It was a 3 that finally put Maggie Rajkowski over the top.

The 5-foot-8 senior starting point guard for Flathead Valley Homeschool’s basketball team sank a trey at Gallatin Valley Homeschool on Jan. 31 to pass the coveted 1,000-point career mark in scoring.

Rajkowski finished with 23 points as the Crusaders posted a 52-40 Montana Christian Athletic Association victory.

“I told the referees before the game I had a girl that was 14 points away from reaching 1,000,” FVHS coach Charles Kenney said of the memorable game.

“I told them I wanted to have a timeout called so we could give her a basketball at halfcourt.

“She hit a 3-pointer, I called timeout and got the whole team out there,” he continued.

“It was a cool situation to give her a basketball on her 1,000 points after she upped it at 1,001.”

Rajkowski’s record quest began as an eighth grader with the homeschool varsity. She saw limited duty, scoring just 21 points.

The two-year starter tallied 70 as a freshman, 217 as a sophomore and 319 her junior season.

“He (Kenney) told me I was 90 points away a couple weeks ago,” Rajkowski said.

“Hopefully I wanted to make it before the end of state. I was surprised (to do it) at Gallatin Valley.”

Rajkowski has scored 396 points her senior season and will add to that total today at the MCAA State Tournament in Helena. The Crusaders face Yellowstone County Home School in a first-round game at 3 p.m. at Carroll College.

Her scoring total currently sits a 1,023. She is averaging 21 points per game.

“Her asset is the way she leads the team in every category,” Kenney said.

“She’s our leading scorer, she’s the leading rebounder. They just look to her in every situation. She’s the glue that holds us together. When she’s not in the lineup, we just fall apart.”

Rajkowski, however, deflects most of that praise from her coach. She says Hannah Seely is the best shooter on the team. While that might be true, Rajkowski is regarded as the team’s best free throw shooter.

She made 15 straight in a 33-point performance against Foothills Christian High School and is 60 of 72 for the season from the charity stripe.

One of her most memorable court moments this season also came came in that Foothills Christian game.

“We were losing by one point with five seconds to go,” she said.

“We called timeout. Coach told me to go coach to coast, which I did.”

That resulted in a layup and a 50-49 victory.

“The opposing coach was yelling at the players not to foul her,” Kenney said.

Another game to remember was the Browning JV battle. Rajkowski hit a 3 at the buzzer to force overtime. FHVS had trailed by 19 points after three quarters.

“I passed it to one of my teammates, who passed it back and I hit a hook shot for 3,” she said.

“It swished.”

Nothing but net.

Rajkowski scored 14 of the Crusaders’ 28 points in that fourth-quarter rally. They did lose in overtime.

“I guess I’m good under pressure situations, sometimes,” she said.

“I like driving (to the basket) and shooting 3s.”

“She has the most beautiful 3-point shot of anyone I have ever coached, including my son,” Kenney said.

“She’s learning how to control the game for one thing, and make the other players better. Her basketball skills are solid.”

Kenney feels she can play at the next level, and is working on a basketball scholarship for her at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

“I would like to go on to the next level, but I don’t know if that’s what I’m supposed to do — money wise, or if God wants me to be (playing more basketball).”

Rajkowski was on the bench for the Crusaders the last time they won a MCAA state title. She was in eighth grade.

This year’s team is 17-10 overall and the No. 2 seed with a 3-3 mark in Western division play.

FVHS has finished third, fourth and fifth at state the last three years.

“We’re peaking now, which is good,” she said.

“Sometimes you peak early and go down early.

“The team chemistry is the best I’ve played on so far,” she added.

“There is more distribution of points with everyone. It’s not just one player.”

The Crusaders have also won six of their last eight games.

Rajkowski prepared for her final season by working out three times a week at The Summit. She lifted weights and shot 100 free throws during each session.

“That was one of my top priorities throughout the summer,” she said.

“I don’t feel like I’ve been very successful,” she said of her outlook before the season started.

“I know I can push myself more. That’s why I’m excited ... to max out my potential.”

Rajkowski said the encouragement she has received from her three older brothers — Isaac, Ruben and Emil — has also made her a better player.

“Especially Isaac,” she said.

“He helped with my basketball ... would rebound for me, help with drills, show me new moves. Through the summers he would encourage me to work hard in the offseason. It definitely paid off.”

And she said Kenney, the only coach she has every played for, has made for a special relationship.

“He’s been more than a coach,” she said.

“He’s been a friend. He checks in on me in the offseason. He’s very caring ... a father figure in my life.

“He believes so much in me. I think he’s yelled at me maybe once.

“He loves us all and brings out the best qualities in his players. He always points us to Jesus Christ for the main focus of life, it comes first before basketball.”