Berks Bests: Grace Reedy Put Exeter Back on the Map
Editor's Note: This story is part of Berks Bests, a summer series spotlighting the all-time leading scorers from Berks County girls basketball programs. Throughout the summer, we'll revisit some of the greatest careers in local basketball history and catch up with the players who left their mark on their schools and communities.
Grace Reedy never set out to become Exeter's all-time leading scorer in girls basketball.
At least, not when she first arrived at the varsity level.
As a freshman, Reedy was more concerned with figuring out high school basketball and helping an Exeter team that hadn't qualified for the county playoffs in six years.
As her game developed, so did her goals.
Reedy eventually became only the fourth girl in Exeter history to score 1,000 career points. Two months later, she became the program's all-time leading scorer.
"I always had goals of scoring 1,000 points in my career," Reedy recently told BGB. "But when I exceeded that, being the all-time leading scorer became my new goal and I was determined to end my career with that."
By the time she finished her career, Reedy had scored 1,403 points, now tied for 37th in Berks County history with Fleetwood's Alexis Hess. (At the time, it was tied for 36th, before Wyomissing's Amaya Stewart propelled up the leaderboard.)
The record was the final piece of a career that helped change the trajectory of Exeter girls basketball.
Reedy averaged 6.4 points per game as a freshman and 15.1 as a sophomore. The Eagles struggled through both seasons and finished with losing records, including a 2-19 campaign in her sophomore year.
Then everything started to change.
Exeter moved to Berks II before Reedy's junior season, and the 5-foot-11 forward erupted for 22.3 points per game. The Eagles won the division with a 7-4 league record and reached the BCIAA playoffs for the first time since 2015.
Reedy followed with another 20-plus-point season as a senior, averaging 20.9 points to lead the Berks Girls League in scoring for the second consecutive year.
The Eagles won another Berks II title, returned to the county playoffs, and reached the District 3 playoffs for the first time in nine years.
Reedy was named to the Pennsylvania Sportswriters All-State team, earning third-team honors in Class 5A. She became the first Exeter girls basketball player to earn All-State recognition since the team was first selected in the mid-1990s.
She entered her final high school game needing 19 points to pass Cortney Crockett's program record of 1,389 points. She scored 21.
Her record-setting 3-pointer came with 3:11 left in the second quarter of Exeter's eventual District 3 first-round loss to Manheim Central.
The record was officially hers, but the moment was bittersweet.
With 49 seconds remaining, Reedy was taken out of the game. Tears began to flow as she realized her high school career was over.
"I was just thinking about how much I love basketball and how much I put into the sport," she said after the game. "These four years have been really special."
The final chapter had arrived.
Looking back now, some of Reedy's favorite memories aren't necessarily the records.
"My favorite memories from my high school playing days would be spending time with my teammates at tournaments and summer practices," she said.
Her 1,000-point game is another memory that has stayed with her, particularly because of the people around her.
"My 1,000-point game and my friends congratulating me was very special to me," she said.
Reedy reached the milestone in December 2023, scoring 34 points in a 63-61 victory over Eastern York.
The accomplishment meant more because she could celebrate it with the people who had been part of her journey.
Her rise came with plenty of hard work.
Reedy was never the type to seek attention. She was soft-spoken away from the court, preferring to let her play do the talking.
On the court, however, she was anything but quiet.
She developed into one of the most productive scorers in the Berks Girls League, capable of scoring from the perimeter or battling through contact around the basket. During her senior season, she set Exeter's single-game scoring record with 40 points against Twin Valley.
She also credited one person in particular for helping her along the way.
"Coach Freese who always believed in me," Reedy said when asked which coach had the biggest impact on her career.
The lessons she learned at Exeter went beyond scoring.
"Playing basketball at Exeter taught me about teamwork and discipline which still helps me to this day," she said.
Those lessons are now carrying over into a completely different chapter.
Reedy is studying nursing at the University of Pittsburgh, where basketball has taken a back seat to her education and future career.
Even without playing, though, she hasn't completely stepped away from the game.
She still follows Berks girls basketball, particularly the program she helped rebuild at Exeter, and she has had the opportunity to watch the Eagles continue the progress that began during her final two seasons.
Last season, Exeter reached the Berks County championship game for the first time in 49 years behind sophomore Addison Harper.
Reedy was thrilled to see it.
"I am so happy to see them doing well," she said. "They deserve it so much and Exeter girls basketball has come a long way and I'm proud to have been a part of that journey."
That might be the most fitting way to look at Reedy's legacy.
The 1,403 points are what put her name at the top of Exeter's record book. The two division titles, consecutive playoff appearances, and All-State selection are the measurable accomplishments.
But Reedy's impact on Exeter basketball can be seen in what came after she left. She arrived at a program that had struggled to find its footing and left it in a much different place.
Now, from Pittsburgh, she's watching the next generation of Eagles build on what she helped start.
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