Who’s No. 1? Targeting the state’s top long-range shooters

Taylor Schildroth of George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill (right) is, along with former Edward Little star Jon Wallingford, one of two players believed to share the state single-game record for 3-pointers with 12. Schildroth accomplished the feat on Jan. 6 as part of a 61-point performance against Lee Academy.

Taylor Schildroth of George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill (right) is, along with former Edward Little star Jon Wallingford, one of two players believed to share the state single-game record for 3-pointers with 12. Schildroth accomplished the feat on Jan. 6 as part of a 61-point performance against Lee Academy.

Taylor Schildroth’s 61-point scoring explosion during George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill’s 97-69 victory over Lee Academy on Jan. 6 has left basketball statistical junkies throughout the region curious about possible records that may have been set by the junior guard.

While Schildroth’s total fell well short of the unofficial state high school boys basketball record of 82 points scored by William Perkins of Morse High School in Bath against Rockland on Jan. 8, 1921, it is believed to be the state’s single-game high since the advent of the 3-point shot nearly three decades ago.

The previous single-game high in the 3-point era is believed to be 57 points scored by T.J. Caouette of Winthrop during the 1995-1996 season and equaled by Jacob Rioux of Van Buren against Madawaska on Jan. 30, 2014.

But what of the standard for 3-pointers in a game?

Regular-season records for Maine high school basketball are not formally kept, but all available information suggests that the dozen 3-pointers Schildroth made during his 61-point night equals the best in state history.

According to a web site that maintains records of Heal Points since 1961 as well as tournament results and other notable accomplishments, Maine High School Basketball Archives, Jon Wallingford of Edward Little High School in Auburn made 12 3-pointers during a game against Lewiston on Jan. 23, 1999.

Wallingford, who went on to play at the University of Maine, finished the game with 41 points as Edward Little scored a 93-51 victory.

Schildroth made 12 of 21 3-pointers during his landmark game, including seven in the first period while scoring 27 points as GSA roared out to a 33-10 lead.

Closest to Schildroth and Wallingford in the boys’ 3-point club are at least three players who made 11 in a game.

The most recent of those feats was accomplished by Van Buren’s Rioux, who made 11 3-pointers during his 57-point uprising in the Crusaders’ 74-51 win over Madawaska during the 2013-2014 season.

Rioux made five 3-pointers in the first quarter, four in the second quarter and two more from long distance during the third quarter before scoring 19 points during the fourth period despite not connecting from beyond the arc.

Former Washburn star and current Husson University guard Mitch Worcester, who twice scored at least 50 points in a high school game, made 11 3-pointers during the Beavers’ 90-42 victory over Van Buren on Dec. 14, 2012. He finished that game with a career-high 53 points.

Josh Kipp of Forest Hills in Jackman made 11 3-pointers during a 99-82 victory over Eastgate Christian of New Gloucester on Jan. 31, 2004.

The boys state record for 3-pointers in a tournament game, as compiled by Bob Butler of York for the Maine Principals’ Association, is 10 by Robbie Morin of Hall-Dale High School of Farmingdale in 1990. That mark came during the Bulldogs’ 76-67 preliminary-round victory over Wiscasset, a game in which Morin scored 48 points.

The boys national mark for 3-pointers in a game, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, is 24 by Taurean Moy of Booker T. Washington High School of Memphis, Tennessee, against Manassas High School of Memphis on Dec. 5, 2000.

Pelletier once a sharpshooter for Fort Kent

As for the girls state record for 3-pointers in a game, no one in the Saint John Valley would be surprised if it belonged to former Fort Kent Community High School point guard Emily Pelletier.

Pelletier made 11 3-pointers while scoring 42 points during the Warriors’ 91-32 victory at Van Buren on Jan. 8, 2009.

“I remember not really playing that well, actually,” said Pelletier, now 25 and working as an athletic trainer for Access Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics in New Hampshire. “But that was a time when Van Buren didn’t have too much talent so it wasn’t too hard of a game for us.

“I do remember being frustrated, my percentage was probably not that great that game, but I was always told to keep shooting so I did it and I ended up getting 11.”

Three-point barrages were not unusual for Pelletier during her senior year. Less than a month earlier, she made 10 during the Warriors’ 80-47 victory at Madawaska, and she had at least two other games that season with eight 3-pointers and another game with seven baskets from beyond the arc for coach Travis Delisle’s club.

“That was my game,” said Pelletier, who surpassed 1,000 career points at both Fort Kent and later at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

Even as a 4-foot-11 freshman Pelletier had the long-range shooting touch, making 10 3-pointers during a victory over Caribou to break the previous school record of nine set by Laughn Berthiaume, who is now the girls varsity basketball coach at Gorham High School.

“I wasn’t too strong, it was all about form,” said Pelletier of her freshman-year record. “My dad (Ronnie) didn’t let me shoot far when I was younger unless I could shoot that far with good form.”

According to MPA records, the girls’ mark for 3-pointers in a postseason game is nine set by Morgan McEwen of Westbrook in 1997 and equaled by Martha Veroneau of Portland’s Waynflete School in 2012.

Veroneau’s feat occurred during the Flyers’ 78-61 victory over Boothbay in a Western Maine Class C semifinal. Veroneau, a junior at the time, finished the game with 47 points.

The girls national standard for 3-pointers in a game, according to NFHS records, is 17 by Rebecca Greenwell of Owensboro (Kentucky) Catholic in a game against Whitehead Trinity on Jan. 4, 2013.

 

 

Ernie Clark

About Ernie Clark

I'm a veteran sportswriter who has worked with the Bangor Daily News for more than a decade. A four-time Maine Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, my coverage areas range from high school sports to mixed martial arts.