Gilbert student swishes perfect score at Hoop Shoot

WINSTED — For even the best NBA or WNBA players, no one is perfect when it comes to free throws.But that wasn’t the case for 13-year-old Elizabeth Wexler, who made 25 free throw shots in a row at the Elks Club’s Northwest District Hoop Shoot Jan. 20 at Chippens Hill Middle School in Bristol.Elizabeth had previously won at the Winsted Elks Club Hoop Shoot on Dec. 15 by making 23 out of 25 free throws, and now she will move up to the regional state finals Saturday, Feb. 9, at New Britain High School.The Hoop Shoot is an annual contest which is held nationally by Elks Clubs across the country for children ages 8 to 13.Contestants who score well enough at local competitions move on to regional and national competitions.If she does well at the regional state finals, Elizabeth will be eligible to compete at a regional finals to be held in March in Portland, Maine, and then possibly the national Hoop Shoot championships which will be held in April in Springfield, Mass.Julie Machowski, Leading Knight for the Winsted Elks Club, said the judges at the local Hoop Shoot event were shocked by Elizabeth’s perfect score.“A perfect score does not happen often at Hoop Shoot competitions,” Machowski said. “Our state chairman said he never saw anything like this. He said a perfect score happened once a very long time ago at the state level. For a kid to get 25 points out of 25 free throws is pretty amazing.”Machowski said Elizabeth serves as chaplain of the Winsted Antlers, which is the club’s youth group.“As a member, Elizabeth always helps out with community service projects,” Machowski said. “She is usually one of the first people out there to help me.”Henry Wexler said he is proud of his daughter.“She’s been playing basketball since she was 5 years old,” Wexler said. “This is a big accomplishment.”Elizabeth, who plays basketball for The Gilbert School’s seventh and eighth grade team, said she really did not have a strategy when it came to free throws.“Strategy? I don’t know, I just shot how I usually shoot,” she said. “When I grow up I would love to play professional basketball. I just love watching and playing the game.”