TURNER — It’s dangerous to throw around the words “never” and “unprecedented” in a Maine high school basketball context.

You have to sift through a century of history. Girls, though a late invitation to the party, have played the game as a sanctioned sport since 1975.

So let’s go with this: The Leavitt Area High School ladies celebrated an achievement that probably hasn’t happened before and might never happen again.

With two free throws in the first 25 seconds Thursday night, Kristen Anderson — no qualifiers are necessary when you pronounce her one of the most electrifying players in state history — scored her 1,000th career point.

Now for the historic part. Anderson is the third player from her program to hit the milestone in just over a year. Her older sister, Courtney, now at the University of Maine, crossed that threshold in December 2010. Teammate Adrianna Newton put her name in the record book just before Christmas 2011.

“It’s been nice for me because I’ve coached all three of them since they were babies,” said Leavitt coach Tammy Anderson, Courtney and Kristen‘s mother. “I do think it’s amazing. It’s a tribute to the kids‘ work ethic, and also our style of play. You’ve got to credit the kids who aren’t scoring as much, because they accept what their roles are. They do what they do well, and they are the biggest part.”

The last known local teammates both to hit 1,000 points were Lynn Girouard and Kristi Royer of Lewiston in the 1999-2000 season.

Odds are stacked against one person reaching the plateau. Even if a player starts every game all four years and her team sees at least two playoff games each season, she would have to average more than 12 points per game from start to finish.

And Kristen Anderson is only a junior. She hit the magic number in her 56th game, counting regular season and playoffs. That means she has chalked up more than 18 points per game on a team with two other marquee scorers.

“It’s a great honor to be able to do something like this and be part of a great team that had three kids able to do this in two years,” Kristen Anderson said. “It was awesome watching my sister and Adrianna get it and finally have it be my turn.”

Leavitt routed Mount View, 71-24, improving to 12-2 and bouncing back from Tuesday’s overtime loss to unbeaten Nokomis.

Anderson had 29 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and four steals. She was limited to 22 minutes — partially by the one-sided numbers on the scoreboard, but also by a scary moment that nearly spoiled the party.

With less than a minute to go in the first half, Anderson and Anna Piotti of Mt. View collided and crashed to the floor together. Anderson landed squarely on her left elbow.

“It swelled up immediately. It’s really sore,” she said.

Anderson was on the bench to start the third quarter, holding an ice pack to the injury. After the swelling subsided slightly, a trainer bandaged the sore spot and Leavitt’s point guard returned to the court.

She racked up six points, four assists, three steals and a blocked shot after being hurt, alleviating any fear of a fracture.

The encounter that left Anderson with a bad wing wasn’t her only one of the night. After getting inadvertently swatted in the mouth and giving the official a quizzical look when no foul was called, Anderson promptly stole the ball and sped to a coast-to-coast layup.

“She’s getting used to it,” Tammy Anderson said of the physical challenges. “She dropped a little bit of weight when she had (mononucleosis) over the summer. We haven’t been able to get her in the weight room too much. It’s hard during the season.”

Six players in Leavitt history, male or female, have reached 1,000 points. Four of them have done it in a little more than 400 days.

Jordan Hersom added the achievement to his multi-sport resume for the boys a week ago. Stan Maxwell and Liza Barker are the others.

“It’s weird knowing that only one (girl) before us three had ever gotten it,” said Newton, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds against Mount View. “I’ve been playing with Courtney and Kristen since I was in second grade, so it’s great for us all to get it in a two-year span.”

Another rare twist to the story is that the Andersons’ mom also topped 1,000 points.

She surpassed the mark as Tammy Anair at Winthrop in 1983 before embarking on a successful career at the University of Southern Maine.

“I thought about it a lot because the last (girl) from my high school to score 1,000 points was me, and that was a long time ago,” Tammy Anderson said.

The latest milestone was a poorly kept secret.

After Kristen Anderson hit the second free throw, the game was stopped and both teams gathered in a circle around the scorer’s table to congratulate her.

Players from the River Valley youth program ran onto the floor carrying silver balloons in the shape of the numerals “1,000.”

“It sparks interest in the program,” Tammy Anderson said of the prolonged success, which included the 2011 Class B state championship. “It’s just an honor to coach a group of kids so committed and passionate about basketball.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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