Caitlin Kramer hopes to leave a legacy at Air Academy.

To start the girls basketball season, Kramer briefly pondered the details of said legacy:

State title or 2,000 career points?

Preferably both, but the Kadets lost in the opening round, Sweet 16 and Great 8 in her first three seasons, making the former goal difficult to reach.

But during her four years on varsity for the Kadets, Kramer amassed 1,850 points and has an opportunity, albeit slight, to eclipse 2,000 points this season.

“Pursuing that was a goal if all the right things happened,” coach Phil Roiko said. “But she recognized she wanted to do everything she could to make the season the best it could be. We would love to see that for her, but she realized there are more important things.”

Air Academy senior basketball player Caitlin Kramer poses for a portrait before practice on Tuesday. Next year Kramer will be playing basketball at Colorado State University. 

Parker Seibold, the gazette

That recognition happened in the season opener against Liberty.

Kramer averaged 26.5 points as a junior and scored 25 or more in 17 of the Kadets’ 26 games her junior year.

To start her final season, however, Kramer scored nine points against the Lancers, her first single-digit scoring game since Jan. 7, 2023, which came in a 72-23 loss to ThunderRidge.

But Kramer’s teammates filled those gaps, and four players scored in double figures for the Kadets.

“We’ve had everyone scoring like that all season,” Kramer said. “Me scoring 30 or 40 was so last year. This year, we have a lot of people who can score, and that draws the attention off me. Other people have opportunities and teams will double-team them, but that leaves me open. This year, there’s more of a balance with our scoring.”

During Kramer’s junior season, only Lydia Flowers (10.3) averaged double-figure points for the Kadets. Now, alongside Flowers, who’s up to 16.9 points per game, Tatyonna Brown averages 12.4, and Air Academy has a slew of contributors on offense.

Also, Kramer has nearly doubled her assists average from last season from 2 to 3.7 per game.

“My teammates give me the ball a lot and they love scoring, but I love to see them score, too,” Kramer said. “I’m giving them opportunities to score more than I did last year, and I think they appreciate that. Getting 2,000 points would be a great accomplishment, but I learned that I needed to stop focusing on myself and focus on the team for our great vision.”

That vision being a state championship.

Air Academy senior basketball player Caitlin Kramer poses for a portrait before practice on Tuesday. Kramer is The Gazette’s Peak Performer of the Week. 

Parker Seibold, the gazette

Air Academy finished 17-9 in 2022-2023 and won 13 games by 10 or more points.

This year, the Kadets are 20-1, No. 1 in the 5A RPI poll, and have won every game by double digits, including 18 victories by 15 or more points.

They hope this success resembles their 2012 team, which finished 25-2 and won the Kadets’ only girls state basketball championship.

“We all want to leave a legacy here and we’ve worked so hard,” Kramer said. “We’ve been through so much together as a team. Reaching that end goal of a state championship would mean the world to us.”

Roiko, who retired in 2020 before returning to the pine this season, remains impressed with Kramer’s dedication to improving those around her.

“I knew that she would probably come down in scoring, but she took (scoring less) upon herself,” Roiko said. “She saw her other teammates and what they could do. When you have players like Lydia and (Tatyonna) put the ball in the hole and Ramah Kahmmash and Audrina Nelson who can score, Caitlin recognized what was possible.”

Roiko said he’s proud of how Kramer continues to thrive in the Kadets system and, even though he hopes she can cross 2,000 points, he knows she’s focused on a storybook ending.

“She’s been unselfish and committed to making the best decisions,” Roiko said. “We’re in a good league where everyone keys in on her whether that’s a box-and-1, triangle-and-2 (defense), but we have other kids who step up when they do that. If she gets the opportunity to get to 2,000 the team, coaching staff, managers, everyone will be cheering for her.”

Air Academy senior basketball player Caitlin Kramer poses for a portrait before practice on Tuesday. Kramer is The Gazette’s Peak Performer of the Week.  

Parker Seibold, the gazette