AMHERST — Erin Klaes had already made two 3-pointers from the spot.
There were three minutes to go in the first quarter when she got the ball on the wing in front of Palmer’s bench.
Well behind the 3-point line, Klaes let a shot fly with two Panther players closing out on her.
Just like the first two 3s, she hit nothing but net.
The 3-pointer gave the Hurricanes senior guard her 1,000th career point.
Coming into the game on Monday night, Klaes needed 11 points to reach the milestone. As she lined up for the 3-pointer, she knew what was on the line.
“I kind of knew it was what I needed,” Klaes said.
Once the 3 hit the bottom of the net, Klaes jogged back down court. As the crowd got on its feet and cheered, Mayouri Yath and teammate Delaney MacPhetres ran over and gave the senior a hug just past midcourt.
The game was momentarily stopped to honor the achievement. Klaes hugged her teammates on the sideline and Amherst Regional coach Ralph Loos.
The first-year coach has known Klaes since she was 2 years old. Loos and Klaes’ father, Brian, founded the Mass Frenzy AAU basketball team, and Loos has coached the Frenzy for over 15 years.
“I told her that one of the main reasons I came to coach here is so I could be here on the sideline for her senior night. She’s a great kid,” Loos said. “She’s worked super hard. She’s a quiet leader. The girls all love her and respect her. She’s everything you would want as a coach. … I’m really proud. I can’t say it enough.”
Klaes finished Monday’s game with 21 points on six first-half 3-pointers to help lead Amherst past Palmer, 75-33.
The senior has always been able to shoot the deep ball, but her ability to affect games in multiple ways has made her an integral part to the Hurricanes’ program for four years.
“She can hurt you in a lot of ways,” Loos said. “She has become, probably, our most consistent rebounder and she’s a great defensive player. It’s easy to be a shooter, it’s hard to be a great all-around player. That’s why she’s going to be a great college player, because she’s a great all-around player.”
On the wall above the visiting team’s bench at Amherst Regional is a banner that honors the school’s 1,000-point scorers.
Klaes is the 11th player overall at the school to reach the milestone and will soon have her name added to the banner.
“I see that banner every day when I go to gym and think ‘Wow, all those people, no one forgets about them,” Klaes said. “It’s pretty cool. I’m excited. It’s crazy.”
With the Hurricanes (9-2, 2-1 Central) set to play at Mount Greylock on Wednesday and many Klaes family members and friends in attendance on Monday, the Hurricanes’ coaching staff was prepared, if necessary, to let Klaes shoot more than she normally would to reach the milestone.
“I joked with my coaches and said that if she has to shoot it 55 times tonight to get 11, she will shoot 55 times,” Loos said. “Thank god it didn’t come to that.”
Amherst knew entering the game that Palmer (4-5, 1-2 Central) liked to play a zone defense. With this in mind, Loos felt like Klaes could get some good looks at outside shots early in the game. Her 20 points in the first half led all scorers and helped put the Hurricanes ahead, 47-13, going into halftime.
“We weren’t done yet,” Klaes said. “It was only the first quarter. … We were up 20-somethng, but it wasn’t enough. This was a league game, an important game.”
Tessa Kawal scored 10 points in the second half to help increase Amherst’s lead. MacPhetres finished the game with 14 points.
With a 35-point lead moving into the final frame, some of Amherst’s younger players were able to contribute.
“The freshmen played great today,” Loos said. “Esme (Siegel), Daizany (Mares), Tessa (Kawal), Sarah (Hastie) and Audrey (Bowen) … we have five freshmen that played great today, and that’s not a bad basketball team we just played. That’s what’s exciting about the future. It’s a young group.”
When Klaes first started playing for the Hurricanes, the future did not look exciting.
During her freshman season, the team only had eight players. Two players ended up leaving the team and JV players were called up to fill out the roster. The team finished the season with a 3-17 record.
“I feel like this is the best season we have had so far,” Klaes said. “We have so much chemistry and get along on and off the court. You can definitely tell we all get along. I feel like we are an unselfish team.”