MARS HILL, Maine — After four years of lighting up the stands in Mars Hill with her play, Central Aroostook girls basketball player Breann Bradbury hit 1,000 career high school points in a win against Fort Kent on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
Though Bradbury didn’t know it yet, she was at 993 points going into Wednesday’s game. When the buzzer went off after she landed her fourth basket in the second quarter, she realized what had happened. She was soon mobbed by congratulating teammates and family members, even receiving several congratulatory handshakes from her opponents.
Central Arostook player Breann Bradbury shakes the hands of a Fort Kent player after scoring her 1,000th point in a game on Wednesday. (David Marino Jr. | The Star-Herald )
The achievement was a long time coming for Bradbury, who has more than 14 years of basketball experience under her belt. First playing in a youth league at age 4, she continued to develop at the sport, easily transitioning to the junior varsity level.
When it came time to play varsity in high school, while she was a little nervous because of the increased competitiveness, she found herself comfortable as she took the court with many long-time teammates.
Bradbury said her main avenue of preparation before games is related to attitude. She said even if it’s a game against a weaker team, she plays every game like it’s an important one.
She tries not to fret if things don’t go perfectly during games, knowing that she needs to be there for her teammates. Describing her team as tight-knit, she said that she’s been playing basketball with many of these girls since fourth grade.
“Even if I’m having a bad game, I always try to have a positive attitude,” Bradbury said. “Because the other girls on my team, they’re probably having a good game. So, I have to cheer them on.”
While Bradbury is happy she was able to reach the 1,000-point milestone, she is also looking ahead to the rest of the basketball season, including the playoffs.
She also recently committed to studying nursing at the University of Maine at Fort Kent in the fall. And while she won’t be playing basketball there, Fort Kent students will still get the chance to see her in action on the school’s soccer team.
Central Aroostook girls basketball coach Dillon Kingsbury said he had seen Bradbury’s potential since she began playing for him in the 2017-2018 season.
Kingsbury said the goal of a coach is never to get a player to 1,000 points. Even if stats are always in the back of the mind, the main focus is turning players into fierce competitors that can give it their all to win games.
He said he and the team’s assistant coach Krystal Kingsbury trained hard with Bradbury her sophomore and junior year to get the results they thought she was capable of reaching.
“We pushed her and got on her for every little thing,” Dillon Kingsbury said.
For Dillon Kingsbury, Wednesday’s celebration was the culmination of years of hard work from Bradbury. He said players should always put their team before themselves, but he was happy she got recognized for her achievement.
“Let them have their moment — they work hard their entire lives for that moment,” Dillon Kingsbury said. “These are things that kids will never forget.”
Bradbury had 236 points her freshman year, 196 points her sophomore year and 257 points her junior year. Having scored 15 points in Wednesday’s game, she currently has 1,008 points.
Bradbury joins a star-studded list of Panthers girls basketball players who have reached 1,000 points: Camilla Nicholas, Chas Nicholas, Stephanie Lundeen, Sherrie Weeks, Kris Weeks, Julie Bradstreet, Tracey Coffin, Sarah Long, Victoria McIntyre, Rachael Grew and Karli Levesque.
Her achievement also comes only a few weeks after her twin brother, Brayden Bradbury, hit the 1,000 point milestone.
