One thousand. A number monumental in size but perhaps even larger in meaning. This is certainly true for Fayetteville-Manlius senior Lexie Roe who on Thursday, February 11 celebrated what most would view as the pinnacle moment for a high school basketball athlete:  one thousand career points. However, for Roe it’s much more than just the concrete one thousand points. 

If you know Lexie, it won’t surprise you that she has achieved this triumph countless times. From sunup to sundown, any day of the week, and in any weather, you can find her on a court working to perfect her shot. A layup, one. An elbow shot, two…a three pointer, three, thousands and thousands of times. Nonetheless, for Roe these particular one thousand points are a greater symbol for all of the hard work and dedication she has committed to her sport over the years. 

Since a young age, Lexie has been an active member in the basketball community. She got involved early on with recreational leagues where she quickly found her love and transitioned to club and travel teams. Ever since then, she has worked tirelessly to improve as a player and athlete. She possesses a strong focus and drive that has carried her all this way all of these years.  “Sports is all about your mentality,” said Lexie.  It is no surprise that she has achieved such an astonishing feat. 

Lexie emphasized the importance of the support she has received throughout her career and the role it has played in helping her reach these goals as well as her dedication. Roe shared, “I’m so thankful that I was able to reach such a big milestone and be surrounded by all my friends and all my coaches when I reached my thousand points.” She reiterated how much she has loved growing up with amazing teammates and friends, some of whom have now played with her on varsity for numerous years. Among them is Kat Amico who explained that the feeling was mutual. Amico said, “The last thing I want to say to Lexie is thank you. She has been my best friend since I came to FM in 7th grade and I have always looked up to how hard she worked.”

Additionally, her achievement of one thousand career points at FM has sentimental meaning as it is a title she now shares with her father Matt Roe, former FM and Syracuse basketball player. Teammate Lilly Coleman explained “For Lex, that was always a goal for her and her parents as her dad also hit 1000 points at FM.” Lexie agreed and accredited much of her success to her role model. “He’s been my biggest supporter,” she said.  “When a lot of people didn’t believe in me he did. A lot of people look up to NBA players and stuff like that, but my dad has honestly been like the number one person that I’ve always looked up to.”

It is also quite remarkable that Roe’s accomplishment comes at an unexpected and challenging time. Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the varsity girls’ basketball season, even resulting in a team quarantine, but also Roe has had to overcome hurdles of her own. She recently returned to the court after suffering from injuries during the last schoastic season. Although she was unable to reach her 1000 points during her junior year, Lexie said she was appreciative to have a season this year where she could honor her achievements. Her message through these obstacles was “Believing in yourself is the number one thing and that’s what I had to learn throughout my entire recruiting process and my entire High School career.” 

While the FM Girls Basketball program will suffer a great loss with the graduation of Lexie Roe and many of her teammates this year, her true career is only just beginning as her future will take her to the Division One level at Niagara University next fall. She said, “Next year I’m really looking forward to playing basketball at such a high level. I have a great coaching staff that I’m going to play for, great teammates, and I’m just so excited that I get to be in such a competitive environment.”  Some of her current FM teammates such as Halle Daino, Kat Amico, and Lilly Coleman all expressed similar enthusiasm about her future and wished Roe tremendous luck at Niagara. Daino even exclaimed, “I hope you kill it at Niagara! I am so excited to see how it goes and what you accomplish!” One thousand points has such a complex meaning of accomplishment, hardwork and dedication for Lexie Roe, and we can’t wait to see another thousand more!