Dartmouth’s Lindsey Oliveira hits 1,000 points

Feb 14, 2020

Three points. That is all that stood in Lindsey Oliveira’s way to joining the Dartmouth High girls basketball 1,000 point club. 

In under three minutes into February 13’s league game against Bridgewater-Raynham, Oliveira hit her goal, much to the excitement of her fellow teammates and the crowd which had gathered with celebratory signs to mark the occasion. 

Oliveira, now in her fourth year on the varsity basketball team, went into the game knowing she would hit her goal there, with 997 total career points. 

“It was honestly nerve wracking but I was just trying not to think about it, because three is such a low number,” Oliveira said. 

But the moment she sunk the shot that sealed her 1,000th point, her teammates broke into applause and joined her on the court to celebrate for a few precious seconds before quickly resuming gameplay. 

“It was cool how I had all of my teammates with me congratulating me and being happy for me,” Oliveira said. “It was cool just being alongside my best friends.” 

Things have also changed a bit for Oliveira through her four years in the varsity program to help her get to the 1,000 point milestone. 

“Freshman year I was a lot more timid, and now I feel like I have a lot of confidence in myself,” Oliveira said. “My mindset is different now, just leading the team and playing with all my senior friends and being a great role model for the younger kids on the team.” 

To give her that final motivation, Head Coach Scott Richards, realizing where she was point-wise, gave her a challenge coming into her senior year to hit that 1,000 point milestone. 

“I wanted her to feel that excitement of personal accomplishment,” Richards said. “She buckled down and she did what she had to do to make it.”

Richards has been coaching Oliveira since she played in a summer league between grades eight and nine. 

“She’s a special kid,” Richards said. “She’s humble and she works hard.” 

The 1,000th point milestone did put a positive end on the February 13 game, which ended in a loss to Bridgewater-Raynham. 

With postseason qualification already secured, Richards and the rest of the team are looking forward to the final game of the season to secure a home playoff game.