Last call for junior guard Mataya Gayle’s hype train.
Gayle achieved a career-defining feat Friday night as she achieved her 1000th career point in an overtime victory against Cornell. The 2024 Ivy League Rookie of the Year is the first to achieve this monumental feat since former teammate and 2025 Wharton graduate Stina Almqvist did so last February.
“This is hard to do at any level, to score 1000 points, especially at this level, and [to] do it in her junior year,” coach Mike McLaughlin said. “There was a lot of stress on her out there [today]. She’s forced to do a lot of things with the ball in her hands, at times possessions get away from her … but she’s a competitor, and she competes.”
The Woodstock, Ga., native immediately made an impact when she joined the Quakers, starting in all 28 games her freshman year and earning a national Rookie of the Week nod from the USBWA after a career-high 28-point performance against Maine. Her scoring efforts late in the season propelled the Quakers to an Ivy Madness berth, where she made the all-tournament team.
Gayle’s sophomore season was even stronger, as she assumed primary point guard duties. She finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game, as well as third in the conference for assists per game, putting up a career-high nine assists three times throughout the season. Gayle totaled 341 points in the 2024-25 season.
Her junior year brought a captain’s role and increased Gayle’s responsibilities on the court, but she took it in stride. Gayle’s been an integral part of a Quakers team vying for Ivy Madness contention amidst particularly competitive conference play, with multiple 20-point performances this season. She notably put up 24 points against No. 4 Texas in a November contest and notched 23 points against Cornell on Friday.
Even if the Quakers don’t make it to Ivy Madness tournament play, it’s safe to say that the Quakers got a first-team All-Ivy contender on their hands.
