Last Tuesday’s game at Colby College already held a special meaning to University of Southern Maine junior forward Megan Pelletier before she took the floor. The Winslow native and former Messalonskee star was excited to be back in her back yard, leading the Huskies against a tough Division III opponent in front of her whole family.

Then Pelletier scored what she initially thought was just another basket on a drive from the top of the key. As she turned to run back on defense, a whistle blew, the game stopped and an announcement informed everyone inside Wadsworth Gym, including Pelletier, that she had just scored her 1,000th career point.

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Megan Pelletier has elevated her game for the University of Southern Maine women’s basketball team. Contributed photo

“I was actually shocked because I wasn’t aware that I was that close,” Pelletier said. “It was pretty much indescribable. I was so excited and so happy. It’s one of those achievements that I never thought I’d feel.”

The achievement seems even more remarkable considering that not long before the season started Pelletier was feeling the pain of a broken left wrist, suffered during team fitness testing during the offseason. The injury forced her to miss six weeks of workouts and put her behind schedule when she was cleared to return just as the Huskies’ preseason started in October.

“I just remember my first practice smiling the whole time because I was just so happy to be back on the court again,” said Pelletier, who tried to stay in shape in the interim by riding a stationary bicycle and kept her shooting eye with one-handing form shooting drills.

Despite the physical setback, Pelletier felt more comfortable at the start of her second season at USM. She transferred there from Thomas College after her freshman year.

“Thomas College is great. It just wasn’t exactly what I was looking for at that time,” said Pelletier, a health sciences major. “USM has a great athletic training program and it’s a more competitive level of basketball. Being away from home was tough and there was a transition, but my teammates were great. My coach was great.”

It took some time to get used to the Little East Conference and coach Gary Fifield’s system, but the 6-foot-2 Pelletier settled in enough to finish second on the team in scoring and rebounding while starting 25 of 28 games.

Fifield actively recruited Pelletier out of high school, so he wasn’t surprised she could make an immediate impact after her indirect journey to Gorham.

“She’s a very athletic post player that has very, very good hands,” Fifield said. “She runs the floor very well for a post player and has a very quick first step as well. She uses her athleticism and long arms to defend in the post.”

Fifield said Pelletier “has gone to another level” this year for the Huskies, leading the team in scoring (16.1 points per game), rebounding (8.4), blocked shots (1.5) and field goal percentage (47.6). She’s been named the LEC Player of the Week three times, including for this past week.

Pelletier has the work ethic and leadership qualities to enhance her athletic talents and believes those contributions are just as vital to the Huskies’ success.

“I try to be the best teammate that I can. I try to encourage and support my teammates every way I can in the best way possible,” she said. “I want be someone who shows up every day with the mentality to work hard and to push my teammates to be the best they can be.”

The hard work may be starting to pay off for the Huskies, who were 10-11 going into Tuesday’s game against Plymouth State but improved to 6-4 in the LEC after a big win last Saturday at UMass-Dartmouth.

“It’s pretty exciting. We’re peaking at the right time,” said Pelletier, whose team has four regular season games left before the conference tournament starts.

Regardless of how far the Huskies extend their season or how many career milestones Pelletier reaches, she won’t be taking any of it for granted.

“Being able to play is just a blessing,” she said. “I love the game. This is the game I’ve played for my entire life. I’m grateful to my family, my coaching staff and all of my teammates to get to this point in my career.”

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33