Lawrence junior Nia Irving and Rangeley senior Taylor Esty knew they were closing in on major milestones, and each acknowledged feeling a bit of pressure heading into their respective games Tuesday evening.
But the two standouts wasted little time eclipsing the 1,000-point barrier for their careers.
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Irving scored 21 points and added 17 rebounds in a 71-29 victory over Brewer. She needed 11 points to reach 1,000 for her career, and she reached the mark when she converted a left-handed layup about five minutes into the contest.
“I had an idea coming into the game but during the game you don’t think about it,” Irving said. “It really did add to the nerves but I tried to play through it. The main concern for me is us winning. But it is nice to get this out of the way so now I don’t feel any pressure.”
Added Lawrence coach John Donato: “We tried to take the pressure off her. To accomplish this halfway through her junior year is pretty amazing. You don’t see this too often.”
Esty came into the Lakers’ game with Buckfield game needing just two points to reach the milestone, and she reached the mark with a pair of free throws in the first minute of a 69-25 victory.
Esty took a pass from Seve Deery-DeRaps and drew a foul just 40 seconds into the game.
“Getting fouled was not how I expected it to happen,” Esty said. “I had some pressure to make them.”
Esty drained both to reach the mark.
Esty finished with eight points to go along with eight rebounds.
“We had hoped she would’ve done it at home,” Rangeley coach Heidi Deery said. “We were set up that way but we had two games (against Vinalhaven) get postponed. We knew coming into this season it would just be a matter of time.”
Still, Esty acknowledged she didn’t know she was close until Friday.
“Someone asked me two or three weeks ago how close I was, and I was like, ‘I don’t know, 200, 300 points?’ When I found out I was only two away on Friday I was like ‘wow.’ I honestly didn’t think I was that close. It was a huge shock.”
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