Kelsey Kahle sets her sights on a bigger goal

Most times in sports, accomplishing the unthinkable—winning championships, breaking records and, hardest of all, changing perceptions—means facing the unavoidable letdown that invariably comes after the accomplishment.

Whether it’s a long winning streak, establishing a new high-scoring average or breaking a record for consecutive free throws made, most athletes will be happier about not having to talk about it any more than actually breaking the record.

But in a world of jersey-popping when we experience success and making excuses when we come up short, Kelsey Kahle’s trip to the top of the list of the career scoring record at Portland State has been nothing short of refreshing.

It would have been easy for Kelsey Kahle to gloat after breaking Laurie Northrup’s 17-year-old record—a record that most Vikings fans with any sort of women’s basketball recollection said would never be broken—she stopped, paused, reflected and then looked to the future.

Kahle’s teams at Portland State have not exactly had a ton of success. While they are ever improving, the women’s basketball program has not had much reason to celebrate since making the jump to the Big Sky Conference in 1996.

Plus, from what I have heard, amassing 1,803 points is extremely difficult.

Kahle is notorious for her aggressive play and hard-nosed demeanor on the court, and rightfully so. During Saturday’s game, she dove for loose balls, took charges on defense and ran the floor better than any of the other nine players on the court during the 31 minutes of action she saw.

But after the game, Kahle transformed seamlessly from looking like the kind of player that every coach would want playing for them, to looking like a role model that every coach would want in their program, every athletic administrator would want at their university and every fan would want to root for.

Following a post-game ceremony that saw Kahle honored by head women’s basketball coach Sherri Murrell, athletic director Torre Chisholm, Northrup and her parents, Kahle shook dozens of hands, gave countless hugs and answered every question with a right answer.

In what seemed like her only moment of weakness since arriving in the South Park Blocks after a stellar career at North Marion High School, she embraced her father for a moment that was longer than normal.

At that moment, it seemed well within her rights for Kahle to bask in her personal accomplishment.

“When I got here four years ago, this program wasn’t very good,” she might have said or, “This record just shows how much we’ve improved.”

But she didn’t mention a word of that. Instead, she talked effortlessly about the pass she received from guard Claire Faucher that put her over Northrup’s mark and ended the anticipation for good.

She recounted how she never anticipated such a moment when she decided to come to Portland State, saying, “I just wanted to play basketball and they gave me the opportunity.”

And as if that attitude of deflecting credit and discounting her own accomplishments were not example enough of her humility, she explained that this will not be the moment she remembers when she looks back on her career.

Really?

Breaking a record that stood for 17 years in front of your friends and family and being recognized as one of, if not the best, female basketball player in school history doesn’t sound that memorable to Kahle.

“Hopefully, I will be able to say that going to the NCAA Tournament will be the moment that I remember. That will be the highlight of my career, it would be awesome.”

Some people just don’t allow themselves to be satisfied.

She likely will not have to worry about suffering a letdown during the rest of the conference season, because Kahle was never set on reaching this goal.

Her sights have always been on something bigger: a stage that she will share not just with her family and coach but her teammates as well—a conference championship and a trip to March Madness.