Four years ago, then a freshman guard, Camille Cummins recorded just 39 rebounds in 22 games. She never dreamed of becoming Cardinal’s all-time career leader in the statistic.
A seven-inch growth spurt forced Cummins to move from the front court to the back and on Saturday she recorded her 880th career rebound to move into the top spot on the school’s record board.
“It was amazing and I honestly thought it would take me another game to reach it, but to beat it in the regular season was even better,” Cummins said.
Adding to the excitement was the fact Cummins was chasing her mother’s record.
Lyndsay (Frank) Cummins recorded 879 rebounds in her four-year career at the school in the mid-80s.
“My Mom’s career influenced me tremendously,” Camille Cummins said. “Without the records she set, there wouldn’t have been as much pressure for me to get the records. Also, I wanted to break them just because they were hers. I mean, who doesn’t want to break their mom’s records.”
Chasing her mother’s records provided Cummins with inspiration to put in the hard work and dedication necessary to excel on the court.
And that is all Lyndsay Cummins hoped for.
“If anybody is going to break your record, your kid, that’s the best scenario,” Lyndsay Cummins said. “I’m very excited for her. I didn’t really think she could get to it only because I played for four years as a big and she’s basically played two at that position. I was surprised by she worked hard and I’m really proud of her.”
Camille Cummins spent her first two years of high school basketball at guard, where she recorded 70 assists in 45 games.
That growth spurt didn’t affect her ability to distribute the basketball as she has recorded 110 assists in the 46 games she has played during her junior and senior seasons. It did, however, result in her quickly climbing the record board for rebounds in a single season and a career.
Cummins pulled down 160 rebounds as a sophomore then added 298 as a junior. Through 23 games this season, she has grabbed 399 rebounds to push her career total to 896 and counting.
“We are very proud of Camille breaking the all-time rebounding mark at Cardinal,” Huskies coach Luke Kruse said. “She needed 20 coming into (the last regular season game) to tie her mom and finished with 21 to break it. Hats off to her; it’s a testament to her relentless determination and energy. It’s a special thing to have a mother-daughter combo like that at Cardinal that will be in the history books for years to come.”
Kruse played a significant role in Cummins’ record-breaking career.
“Luke does a good job of giving them goals and he gave her goals her junior year to average a double-double and that worked well for her and gave her a purpose,” Lyndsay Cummins said. “She had some success and that was something to motivate her and build on.”
Cummins, who has at least one more chance to add to her career rebounding total when the Huskies travel to Warren Champion for a sectional championship game on Saturday, hopes to leave behind a legacy that inspires other players to work hard and focus on achieving their goals.
“When I leave Cardinal, I want my teammates to have learned from me that rebounding is all heart with a little bit of height,” Cummins said. “I just want them to know that even if you don’t score the most points or have the most rebounds you can always hustle and work hard.”
