MDI duo both hit milestone Barker, Gott reach 1,000 on same night

MDI’s senior duo of Bracey Barker and Shelley Gott have helped lead the Trojans to two Eastern Maine and state Class B championships, and the two girls hit another big milestone Monday night.

Both girls scored their 1,000th career point in a game against Searsport.

Barker, who will play basketball for the University of Maine next year, needed 20 points and scored 23. Gott needed 32; she tallied 33.

“It’s exciting for the families of these kids, but as a basketball coach, scoring 1,000 points is really a secondary thing,” said MDI coach Burt Barker, who happens to be Bracey Barker’s father.

It was a 97-24 victory for the Trojans, who are 16-1 with one game remaining in the regular season.

Burt Barker said his main concern was that the girls got the hoopla and pressure of their 1,000th point over with before the postseason.

“We wanted to get it out of the way so we can focus on the tournament,” he said.

The girls will be honored at Friday’s MDI boys game against Ellsworth.

With more freshmen playing on varsity squads – both MDI girls got lots of playing time as ninth-graders – scoring 1,000 points in high school isn’t as rare as it used to be.

But two players on the same team hitting the 1,000 mark in the same game is much more so, although it’s happened at least twice in past four seasons. Calais stars Lanna Martin and Katie Frost both hit the 1,000 mark on Dec. 17, 2001. George Stevens standouts Lora Trenkle and Nikki Allen did it Jan. 13, 2000, in a game at Blue Hill.

Injury ends Carter’s H.S. career

Mount View’s Heather Carter, who has been one of the top players in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference during her career, will miss her final games as a Mustang.

Carter injured her right knee in a Jan. 18 game against Rockland – she was hit in the side and fell down with 38 seconds remaining in what would eventually be a 55-22 victory over the Tigers – and her doctor believes the injury tore the anterior cruciate ligament. She had a magnetic resonance imaging exam this week and should find out for sure today.

“It just popped and tingled and I knew it wasn’t good,” Carter said. “We have our last game Thursday. I get to sit and watch it.”

The 5-foot-10 center-forward knows what she’s talking about. That’s because she tore the ACL in her left knee during her sophomore year.

It took her about six months to recover from that injury and she was healthy enough to play field hockey the next fall. Carter plans to attend Thomas College in Waterville and play for the Terriers.

Carter was leading the KVAC with about 15 rebounds per game and was third in scoring, averaging 15 points per game.