Allazia Blockton crossed paths with Krystal Ellis as a teenager. Now Blockton has passed Ellis as Marquette's scoring leader.

Krystal Ellis saw something special in Allazia Blockton long before Blockton began challenging Ellis’ status as the greatest scorer in Marquette women’s basketball history.

The exact date is lost to history, but Blockton was early in her time at Dominican High School and Ellis was a few years removed from scoring 1,940 points at MU from 2005-’09.

It was at an all-star summer camp at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Ellis was working there as a coach and Blockton stood out even among other talented players.

“She was really good,” Ellis said. “I really enjoyed her game.”

Always looking for a challenge, the teenage Blockton wanted to take Ellis one-on-one.

“I was talking trash to her,” Blockton said. “I was like, ‘Hey, let me play you for your watch.’ And I lost.”

Ellis can confirm.

“It didn’t go well for her,” Ellis said with a laugh.

But that competitive spirit has served Blockton well. Now a senior guard at MU, she broke Ellis’ career scoring mark in the Golden Eagles’ 76-57 victory over Northwestern last Sunday.

Blockton has 1,946 points with 21 regular-season games to go. She is close to topping former men’s star Jerel McNeal (1,985) as the leading scorer in MU hoops history. The 2,000-point barrier also is coming into view.

“I think the 2,000 mark is even more impressive,” Golden Eagles coach Carolyn Kieger said. “Especially because she will be the first female or male in Marquette history to do that.

“With all the tradition that Marquette has had, it’s pretty impressive.”

Blockton was an instant starter for Kieger. In her first college game against UW-Green Bay, Blockton missed her first two shots before scoring on a layup two minutes into the game.

Blockton has been a relentless bucket-getter ever since, expanding her game out to the three-point line.

“My assistant coach, we always talk, saying I scored 1,000 points my first two years just off strictly layups,” she said. “I probably had, sophomore and freshman year, just 40 threes.

“Because I was just a person to get to the basket. That’s all I was.”

She has made 19 three-pointers in nine games this season after hitting 38 last season.

Ellis was more perimeter-oriented. She hit 214 three-pointers in her MU career.

“We’re two different players,” Ellis said. “I was very offense-minded. She has a different caliber of game. Of course, I shot a lot of outside shots. She gets to the basket extremely well. She has a nice pull-up. She leads her team well.”

Kieger has the unique perspective of having played one season at MU with Ellis and then recruiting and coaching Blockton.

“They’re both natural scorers,” Kieger said. “You put the ball in their hands, whether it’s one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three or five-on-five, they are going to get theirs.”

Ellis lives in Racine, where she was a star at St. Catherine’s High School. She works as an economic support specialist for the Workforce Development Center. She also referees basketball games and has gotten Blockton gigs as an official during summers.

Ellis gets to a few MU games every season, so she has watched Blockton develop into a scoring machine.

“Krystal even said four years ago, ‘She is going to shatter my record,’ ” Kieger said. “The fact that she was excited about that and the fact that she’s ecstatic about where the program is headed, that just shows you what Krystal is made of and that she really wants Allazia to succeed.”

Ellis said losing the record to Blockton wasn’t bittersweet. She got to wear the scoring crown for nine years. Ellis posted a congratulatory message to Blockton on Facebook.

“I’m happy for her,” Ellis said. “I don’t mind. The person before me had it for 10 years and then I broke it.

“Records are meant to be broken. I’m just glad it’s a Wisconsin person that broke it so we can keep it in our state.”