It was a special night for Chloe LaRoche and the Belchertown girls basketball team.

The Orioles senior entered Tuesday’s MIAA Division 3 preliminary round game against Dover-Sherborn sitting at 982 points for her varsity career. It could have been the final game for LaRoche and No. 33 Belchertown, but the best of both worlds happened — the Os won the game, and LaRoche toppled the 1,000 point milestone.

She poured in a game-high 20 points, eclipsing the 1,000 point plateau in the third quarter of Belchertown’s 60-59 road victory over No. 32 Dover-Sherborn.

“It feels really good, because I set this goal for myself freshman year,” LaRoche said. “I wasn’t really sure if it was a possibility or not, but I always had it in the back of my mind as a goal and it feels really good to accomplish a goal that I’ve had for the last for years.”

Considering LaRoche needed 18, which certainly is no easy task, and it could have been her only chance to get it, the pressure mounted on her throughout the day. But well-wishes from her family and freinds helped calm her down, and her stellar performance ultimately led the Orioles to a huge tournament win – their first in the new statewide format.

“I definitely was feeling a lot of pressure, and I also had so many people throughout the day at school and my family and friends who were super supportive of me,” LaRoche said. “I was nervous, but at the end of the day I play basketball because I love it. I kept telling myself that even if I didn’t get it, I just wanted to go out there, have fun and play how I usually would.”

LaRoche admitted her field goal to achieve the milestone wasn’t the smoothest shot she’s ever made, as she drove inside before getting shut off by a defender. LaRoche adjusted and threw up a right-handed hook shot that fell through. Regardless of how it looked, she was just happy to get it done.

“It was not the prettiest shot,” LaRoche said with a laugh. “I don’t even know how to describe it. I guess it was like a hook shot type of thing. I would’ve traded it out for one of the other baskets I got, but at the end of the day it’s all the same.”

Belchertown (12-9) advanced to the Div. 3 Round of 32 and a meeting with top-seeded St. Mary’s Lynn on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday’s prelim win was chock-full of dramatics. Trailing by four points with 11 seconds remaining in regulation, the Orioles rallied. After cutting the deficit to one point, freshman Aubrey Klingensmith drilled the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull out the 60-59 win.

LaRoche had seven points at halftime, with Belchertown holding a 25-21 lead. But Dover-Sherborn outscored the Orioles by a 27-24 margin in the third quarter to get within one. The hosts ultimately snatched control and looked to book a spot in the Round of 32 before Klingensmith (14 points), LaRoche and Logan Moses (14) helped secure the wild road win.

“It’s really exciting [to advance in the tournament], especially with this team because I love this team so much,” LaRoche said. “I was mainly excited because I get to play another game with them.”