WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. — Weeki Wachee High School senior Paige Atwater spent her high school career tirelessly perfecting her three-point shot.
Where is her favorite spot on the floor?
“Anywhere.”
“I just love shooting the rock, and I just worked on it every day growing up,” Atwater said. “Just shooting and shooting. My coaches gave me the green light to shoot.”
“There’s been some times in games, and she’ll pull it,” Weeki Wachee head coach Billy Hughes said. “I’m like, ‘Ugh…Oh! Good shot, that’s a helluva shot.’”
Atwater is elite from beyond the arc.
This McDonald’s All-American nominee led the entire state of Florida with 108 three-pointers made and averaged a state-best four three-pointers per game.
“She’ll shoot it and start running back on defense because she knows it’s going in,” Hughes said.
Atwater broke her own school and county records by making 11 three-pointers in one game — she also scored 40 points in that game, which is also a new school record.
“Sometimes I just go in knowing that this is the night,” Atwater said. “This is going to be good for me. That same night all my family was there. I just had a lot of support. I just have to kill it tonight.”
“She is built for that moment,” Hughes added. “I trust the ball in her hands 110%. Whenever she has the ball in her hands and she’s in range, just let it fly. I get more mad when she doesn’t shoot the ball. Every shot she takes is a good shot.”
She may have played her last game at Weeki Wachee, but her basketball career is far from over. She is signed on to play at Saint Leo University.
“It was just a goal that I had since I was a little kid,” she said. “A goal to get a scholarship. I finally reached that goal.”
Paige Atwater's career accomplishments:
•2023/24 Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) Player of the Year/Class 4A, District 10 2023/24
•McDonald’s All-American Nominee
•Reached 1,000 career point milestone on 1/6/24 vs Hernando during New Year’s Tournament 2023/24
•2-time District Champions
•1st overall in Florida for three-pointers made in the season [108 3PM] 2023/24 season
•1st overall in Florida for three-pointers made per game average [4.0 3/PG] 2023/24 season
•15th overall in the United States for three-pointers made in the season [108 3PM] 2023/24 season
•Averaged 16.0 points per game in the regular season [1st overall in Hernando County, 1st overall in District] 2023/24 season
•Averaged 4.0 three-pointers made per game [1st overall in Hernando County, 1st overall in District] 2023/24 season
•108 three-pointers made [1st overall in Hernando County, 1st overall in District] 2023/24 season
•80% from the free throw line [1st overall in Hernando County, 1st overall in District] 2023/24 season
•385 points scored in the regular season [1st overall in Hernando County, 1st overall in District] 2023/24 season
•Led the team in scoring in 12 games [team high] 2023/24 season
•Averaged 2.6 steals per game [3rd overall in District, 4th overall in Hernando County] 2023/24 season
•Averaged 1.7 assists per game [3rd overall in District, 4th overall in Hernando County] 2023/24 season
•Broke Hernando County record for 11 three-pointers made in a single game [vs Hudson on 2/2/24]
•Broke Hernando County record for most made three-pointers made in a single season [108 3PM] 2023/24 season
•Broke High School record for most points made in a single game with 40 points [vs Hudson on 2/2/24]
•Broke High School record for 11 three-pointers made in a single game [vs Hudson on 2/2/24]
•Broke High School record for most three-pointers made in a single season [108 3PM] 2023/24 season
•Broke High School record for points per game average in a regular season [16.0 PPG] 2023/24 season
•286 Career three-pointers
•2022/23 Gulf Coast 8 All-Conference Player of the Year
•2022/23 Hernando Sun Player of the Year
•2021/22 First Team All-Conference for Gulf Coast 8
•2021/22 Hernando Sun All-County Girls Basketball Team
