ADAMS TWP — When Ali Goetz was a freshman, she set a goal for herself.

To reach 1,000 career points.

Goetz, a 5-foot-11 senior forward for the Mars girls basketball team, reached that milestone in her home gym against Deer Lakes Monday night.

She needed 14 points. She scored 15.

“It’s just a huge milestone,” Goetz said. “It’s something I have been looking forward to since I was a freshman. It’s an amazing feeling to accomplish it because it means me and my team have been successful.”

Mars is 8-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the section this season heading into a showdown tonight against Knoch.

Goetz was happy to get the milestone out of the way.

Goetz said she was aware she was creeping up on the mark, but guarded against pressing too much to reach it.

“I didn’t want it to be my first priority,” Goetz said. “I just wanted to go out and have a good time playing each night, and if it came, it came.”

It came a little sooner than she thought this season because Goetz is averaging more than 16 points per game.

Last season, Goetz averaged 12 points per contest and she scored 13.4 points per game as a sophomore.

Mars coach Tony Howard takes the blame for Goetz’s “down” year as a junior.

“I think I didn’t use her as well last year,” Howard said. “We tried to get the ball in her hands on the perimeter more last season. The biggest thing this year is she is getting back to playing more inside and she’s getting to the line more.”

When Goetz does get to the line, she usually cashes in.

Goetz is shooting at an 84 percent clip from the free throw line this season, including a 7-of-8 performance from the stripe against Deer Lakes.

Last season, Goetz shot 70 percent from the line.

A summer shooting group has had a lot to do with that improvement, Goetz said.

“I made 3,000 foul shots this summer,” she said. “We had to make 5,000 shots — 3,000 from the foul line and 2,000 from 3-point range. I shot foul shots non-stop this summer and that’s been a huge help.”

Howard has also seen the difference and was especially pleased to see her reach the milestone on her home court.

“I think it was a big event for her,” Howard said. “It was nice that she was able to get it at home. I think it was a relief for her and kind of took the anxiety away. She can play free-spirited now.”

Goetz hopes to play for many more years.

Once her high school career comes to an end, Goetz said she wants to play in college.

Where is still a wide-open proposition.

“I’m definitely not ready to push basketball aside. I’ve been playing since the fourth grade,” Goetz said. “I’ve had a couple of Division III schools look at me, but where I’m going is not set in stone yet. I definitely still feel like I have the passion to play.”