GREENFIELD — Silence overcame Nichols Gymnasium with 32.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s Greenfield-Drury girls basketball game. The result was no longer in doubt, the visiting Blue Devils ahead by 15 points and headed toward an eighth win of the season — a 40-26 non-playoff victory.

Focus was instead on Green Wave senior Amber Bergeron, who walked toward the foul line with nine days of emotion built up inside, ready to pour out. 

Three games removed from a knee injury that has severely impacted her mobility on the court, Bergeron toed the charity stripe with 999 career points. Just moments after being fouled by Drury’s Jacinta Fox in the post, Greenfield’s leading scorer was on the cusp of a milestone.

“I was very nervous. I have to admit I was very nervous,” she said. “I just thought, ‘This is my one chance, I get two free throws, I have to make one.’ I just had to breathe and I was good.”

A normal free throw routine, something she’s doing thousands of times, helped Bergeron make history.

Her free throw in the waning seconds of Thursday’s game secured that 1,000th point, bringing action to a halt as teammates surrounded her at the line for celebration. That included a special embrace with younger sister and teammate, Tayler, who was among the first to greet her. Giant ‘1,000’ balloons were placed at center court for pictures.

“It feels so good,” said Bergeron of reaching the milestone. “It’s just a relief off my chest. I’ve been, for two weeks now, I got hurt twice… so just to finally get it, it feels so good and I feel so proud of myself that I could reach this goal… especially with everything that’s been going on.”

Bergeron entered Thursday's game against Drury sitting at 995 career points, needing five to hit the exclusive mark. The senior, who averages 23.2 points per game this season, became the eighth Green Wave player to reach the 1,000 point mark. She’s the first in the Recorder area to hit the milestone in four years, when Greenfield's Katie Haselton and Turners Falls' Anthony Peterson reached that total in 2020.

“I’ve been coaching her since she was in sixth grade on the middle school team, and playing AAU as well,” Greenfield coach Ben Johnson said. “To see her come out here and be able to do this, it’s quite the accomplishment. I’m really proud of the work she’s put in.”

Bergeron’s path toward the 1,000-point club took a detour when she went down with an injury on Feb. 13 against Hoosac Valley. She exited that game 16 points shy, and despite giving it a go the next night against McCann Tech, wasn’t able to stay on the floor for very long. She notched 11 points in a Class C quarterfinal loss to Franklin Tech on Monday, setting the stage for Thursday’s tilt with Drury.

But the injury hampered Bergeron, who said she hasn’t been able  to partake in practices with her teammates this week. She went down again late in the second quarter on Thursday, but checked back in for the majority of the second half. Still, with Drury’s defensive game plan predicated around Greenfield’s leading scorer, Bergeron scored just one point in the first half.

“It has been very tough,” she admitted. “During practices I haven’t really been practicing, I’ve been doing workouts on my own for my knee, shooting on my own. It’s been very difficult not to be able to practice with my team but they’ve been very supportive through it and I just can’t thank them enough for everything.”

She finally broke through for a jumper in the corner with 5:15 remaining in the fourth quarter, bringing her total to three points. She had a chance to reach 1,000 with 2:14 to play, but only made one of three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt.

That set the stage for the final minute, when she was bumped in the post with 32.4 seconds to go. This time, she wasn’t going to be denied.

“I was so happy,” Bergeron said of the big moment. “Not even relief, although it was relief, but more than anything I was just happy. And joy, I just felt so much joy in that moment.”

Johnson echoed his star’s comments.

“Definitely a weight off Amber’s shoulders getting that 1,000th point,” he said. “I know she’s been putting a lot of pressure on herself. It’s always hard to see a player like her struggling with injuries, she’s kind of the heart and soul of our team and we feed off her. To see her struggling, we all want to see her succeed so it’s great that she was able to in that moment.”

Tayler Bergeron led Greenfield with eight points, followed by Carly Blanchard with six and Amber Bergeron with five.

Greenfield (10-10) now turns its attention to the upcoming MIAA Division 5 state tournament, which begins next week. The Wave checked in at No. 14 in the most recent power rankings, and Johnson said they’re hoping for a top 16 seed and a first-round bye when the brackets are released this weekend.

“If we can, then it’s a week off, she can rest her knee, we can go over some game plans going forward once we know who we’re playing and go from there,” he said. “And take the next two days off, rest up, heal and get right back to work on Sunday.”

BERGERON NOTES: As an eighth grader she scored 68 points and in an abbreviated COVID season as a freshman, she scored 98 points.

Bergeron then spent her sophomore season at Northfield Mount Hermon, where she didn’t record any varsity points, before heading back to Greenfield. 

Last winter Bergeron led the area with 20.3 points per game, finishing the season with 387 points as a junior. She entered this season needing 447 points to get to 1,000. 

Just how dominant has this season been for Bergeron? She's had five games with over 30 points, including a 40-point game against Hopkins Academy, and she’s been responsible for over 50 percent of her team’s points on the season.