By Bill Gilman
BOLTON -- With just over 11 minutes to play in Fitchburg High's first- round playoff game against Nashoba Reginoal, it did not appear as though Red Raider Sara Thomas would get the 25 points she needed to reach the 1,000 mark -- ever.
The Chieftains had overcome a nine-point halftime deficit to take a 28-27 lead and seemed poised to end both Fitchburg's season and Thomas' career shy of the milestone. But Thomas' teammates were not about to let that happen. Sparked by the defensive work of Shelly Richard, and Elena Pandiscio, Thomas picked up the pace on the offensive end. As a result, Fitchburg retook the lead for good with a 14-2 run and pulled away for a 57-36 win over the Chieftains. Thomas finished with a game-high 26 points, notching her 1,000th on the front end of a 1-and-1 with 1:13 to play. After she made her second free throw, play was stopped and Thomas' achievement was recognized.
"At the beginning of the second half, I didn't think that I would make it," said Thomas, who had 12 points at halftime. "At that point all I wanted to do was win the game. But then my shots started to fall then I started thinking about it."
Thomas becomes just the third female in FHS history to pass the 1,000 point mark. Tracey Smith and Pam Briggs were the others.
With the victory, Fitchburg advances to the Central Mass. Division 1 quaterfinals at Milford Thursday at 7:30 p.m. "I wish we could have had this game at home. It would have been a little easier," said FHS coarch Tony Alario. "It's tough playing on a different floor with a flat ball."
Fitchburg got out of the gate quickly jumping out to an 9-4 lead. But Nashoba managed to stay within shouting distance for most of the half. The Red Raiders 11-10 got some help off the bench from Kristy Pappas who buried a jumper and set up Taryn Paul for an easy bucket to help Fitchburg take a 25-16 lead into the locker room.
Nashob, led by Tahya Leet (13 points) made a strong run early in the second half. Leet scored eight of her points as part of a 12-2 run to open the half.
The junior point guard was not having a productive night offensively but decided to turn up the defensive pressure. Richard finished with 12 points, 10 steals and six assists. Many of those steals turned into points for the Red Raiders scored by Thomas. Suddenly, Nashoba (37 turnovers) not only couldn't get a shot to fall, the Chieftains were having trouble getting shots off.
So, while the Chieftains struggled, Fitchburg went on a 14-2 run to take the lead for good. Nashoba closed to 41-34 on consecutive hoops by Leet. But Fitchburg wasn't ready to let this one slip away. The Red Raiders closed the game with a 16-2 run as steal after steal became hoop after hoop for Richard and Thomas.
As the game clock wound down, the only question remained whether or not Thomas would hit 1,000. Her teammates worked hard on getting her the ball. Finally, with 1:13 left to play, Thomas was fouled in the backcourt. She calmly sank both free throws to get to 1,001.