GORHAM -- A regular season of growth ended in style for South Portland's girls' basketball team Friday evening at Evans Gymnasium.
With the top seed in Class AA South hanging in the balance, the Red Riots couldn't have asked for a better start at Gorham, scoring the game's first six points and racing to a seemingly safe 17-3 advantage after one quarter, thanks in large part to four points, five assists and three rebounds from sophomore point guard extraordinaire Annie Whitmore.
But South Portland went ice cold in the second period, scoring just one basket, and the Rams crept back within seven, 19-12, at halftime.
The Red Riots returned to their scoring ways when the second half began, as sophomore Mya Lawrence knocked down a 3-pointer sever seconds in and South Portland went up by as much as 15, 31-16, on a layup from junior Caleigh Corcoran, before Gorham again answered and pulled within 38-28 heading for the final stanza.
There, the Rams drew within four, 42-38, on a 3-pointer from junior Lauren Dunbar with 1:25 to play, but two clutch free throws from senior captain Emma Travis turned the tide, then Whitmore made two foul shots down the stretch as the Red Riots held on for a 46-40 victory.
Whitmore, Travis and Corcoran all scored in double figures as South Portland completed its stellar regular season at 15-3 and dropped Gorham to 14-4 in the process.
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"We had a big halftime talk that we had to earn it," said Brianne Maloney, the Red Riots' terrific first-year coach. "Just because we came in number one, just because we had a great season and beat them the first time around, we still had to come out and earn it. I felt like the third quarter, we came out and earned it. It's great to have these big games at the end of the season to prepare us. We learned lessons the whole game."
High stakes
Gorham is the three-time reigning regional champion and South Portland is the heir apparent, so a collision course was a natural outcome this winter.
Both squads have shown championship glimpses during the course of the season, with a few stumbles mixed in.
The Rams rolled to seven straight wins to start the year, defeating Falmouth (70-15), Windham (33-25), Greely (57-24), Bonny Eagle (59-18), Scarborough (43-32), Noble (53-14) and Thornton Academy (46-38). After a last-second 41-40 loss to Windham, Gorham handled Cheverus with surprising ease in a state game rematch (62-46), then downed Massabesic (47-43), Deering (61-30) and Falmouth (60-10). After falling at South Portland (52-33), the Rams edged Scarborough (31-26), then were knocked off by Thornton Academy (45-40), before downing Westbrook (48-32) and Sanford (47-33).
The Red Riots, meanwhile, opened with wins over host Noble (51-19) and Lewiston (63-29), then defeated visiting Scarborough in a playoff rematch (51-32). After a 57-47 setback at Cheverus, South Portland bounced back and knocked off visiting Sanford (56-44), host Bonny Eagle (63-16), visiting Deering (58-27), host Scarborough (47-25) and host Portland (53-30) before losing at home to Windham (35-33) and Oxford Hills (34-29). The Red Riots then clicked, beating visiting Gorham (52-33), visiting Massabesic (55-18), visiting Cheverus (59-47) and visiting Portland (58-23).
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In the teams' first meeting, Jan. 20, South Portland erupted in the middle quarters and went on to victory behind 13 points from Travis and 12 from Whitmore. Senior Julia Reed paced the Rams with 13 points.
Friday, in a weather-delayed showdown, on Senior Night, Gorham hoped for a different result and to leapfrog into the top spot in the standings, but instead, the Red Riots made the plays they had to make to secure the No. 1 seed.
South Portland sophomore Annie Whitmore looks to pass as Gorham senior Julia Reed defends during the Red Riots' 46-40 victory in Friday's regular season finale. Hoffer photos.
South Portland set the tone just seven seconds in as Whitmore fed Corcoran for a jumper and the visitors were on top to stay.
After a Corcoran steal, Whitmore drove for a layup and her first points and with 6:03 to go in the first period, two Whitmore free throws produced a 6-0 lead.
The Rams broke the ice with 5:19 on the clock, as Reed made a layup, but Whitmore fed Travis for a layup, then Whitmore set up Corcoran for a jumper which made it 10-2 and forced longtime Gorham coach Laughn Berthiuame to call timeout.
It didn't help, as Whitmore found Lawrence in the corner for a 3-point shot in transition and after junior Logan Doughty made a free throw for the Rams, Whitmore fed Corcoran for a layup, then Travis tacked on two free throws for make the score 17-3 after eight minutes of play.
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But just as quickly as it took the lead in the first period, South Portland went ice cold in the second.
Gorham got a driving layup from senior Vanessa Walker for its first field goal in 7 minutes, 29 seconds, then Doughty made a layup, before senior Lindy Moreland scored on a reverse layup and junior Winni Moreland added a foul shot to cut the deficit to seven.
Finally, with 1:31 on the first half clock, Travis drove and banked home a shot in traffic to snap a 7:07 drought, but a layup from Walker pulled the Rams within 19-12 at the break.
While Gorham figured to have the momentum when the third quarter began, instead it was the Red Riots rediscovering their scoring form.
Gorham senior Julia Reed is defended by South Portland sophomore Mya Lawrence.
The Red Riots quickly shook off their second period doldrums when Whitmore set up Lawrence for a corner 3 just seven seconds into the second half.
Doughty answered with a driving layup, but Corcoran set up Travis for a 3.
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"Energy dropped a little bit in the second, so we had to come out strong in the third quarter," said Travis. "We knew we had to get the job done."
After a layup from Dunbar (set up by Walker), Whitmore got a contested bank shot to drop, then Lawrence delivered a pretty feed to a cutting Corcoran for a layup and a 31-16 advantage.
"I think my game is really cutting to the basket and my teammates were looking for me and they got me the ball and I could finish inside," Corcoran said.
"It was our cutting and moving the ball around the perimeter," Whitmore said. "It stopped in the second quarter, then in the third, we picked it up."
The Rams again refused to buckle, as Walker knocked down a 3-pointer and after Corcoran drove for a layup, junior Zoe Dellinger knocked down a 3 from the corner, Doughty sank two free throws and Lindy Moreland fed Reed for a layup to cut the deficit to 33-26.
South Portland answered back in the final 90 seconds of the frame, as Whitmore scored on a runner in the lane and after junior Winni Moreland drove for a layup for Gorham, Travis set up Whitmore for a 3 and a 38-28 advantage with eight minutes to go.
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"My mentality was I needed more points to get us going and that's what I was trying to do," Whitmore said.
The Red Riots would eventually close it out, but it wouldn't come easily.
Dellinger opened the fourth period with a 3-pointer, then Reed drove for a layup to make it 38-33.
After junior Destiny Peter fouled out for South Portland, freshman Freyja Goodwin-Rossiter had to play some key minutes for the visitors, but she and her teammates rose to the occasion to help bring the curtain down.
With 5:12 remaining, Travis set up Corcoran for a layup.
Seventeen seconds later, after a Gorham turnover, Travis hit a runner in the lane to stretch the lead back to nine.
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"We just needed to lock in on our defense and I think our offense came from that," said Whitmore. "Our defense really leads to our offense."
The Rams had one final push, as Walker set up Doughty for a layup, then with 1:25 on the clock, Dunbar's 3 made it a four-point game, 42-38.
But Gorham couldn't complete the dramatic comeback, as Travis sank two clutch free throws with 57.4 seconds remaining.
"I actually sing my 'A, B, C's' and I don't think about anything else," Travis said, of her approach to her foul shots.
"I was very confident with Emma at the line," Whitmore said. "She's our senior captain. We have a lot of faith in her. I knew she'd hit those."
After Walker missed a 3 and Corcoran got the rebound, Whitmore was fouled with 34.5 seconds to go and she made the second of two attempts to make it three-possession contest.
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The Rams' final points came on a Reed driving layup with 24.4 seconds left.
South Portland then ran the clock down to 7.2 seconds before Whitmore was fouled. Whitmore missed her first attempt, but made her second and that made the Red Riots' 46-40 victory official.
South Portland freshman Freyja Goodwin-Rossiter, left, and junior Stellar Henderson celebrate at the end of the Red Riots' victory.
"We knew we needed this win for the one seed and we had great energy to start," Corcoran said. "We hit a lull in the second quarter, but we came back in the third quarter and held it together through the fourth."
"This gives us a lot of confidence," said Travis. "Last year, we didn't end the season well. This will give us momentum going into the tournament."
"I think we got in foul trouble and that upset the rhythm we were in," added Maloney. "Destiny fouled out, but Freyja, a freshman, came in and played the most minutes she's played and she did an excellent job. It's good for us to experience those moments and prepare us for playoffs."
Whitmore finished with a game-high 15 points, to go with eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocked shots.
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"We don't need to rely on Annie having the ball in her hands every single second looking to score," Maloney said. "She has people she can rely on to take pressure off. That allows people to play more freely, which is how we want our offense to be. We want to have a lot of movement and have the ball in a lot of people's hands."
Travis added 13 points and six rebounds and Corcoran had one of her finest games to date, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds despite being under the weather.
"(Caleigh's) feeling awful and we weren't sure what we'd get out of her tonight, but when we asked if she needed a sub, she wasn't coming off the floor," Maloney said. "That's the type of kid she is. She does the little things and tonight, she knocked down shots and brought us to the next level."
Lawrence tallied six points and five rebounds.
South Portland enjoyed a 38-32 advantage on the glass, made 8-of-14 free throws and overcame 13 turnovers.
For Gorham, Doughty had nine points, a game-high 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Reed added eight points (and three blocks), Walker had seven (to go with six rebounds and four assists), Dellinger six, Dunbar five, Winni Moreland three and Lindy Moreland two.
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The Rams only turned the ball over nine times, but hurt themselves at the charity stripe, sinking only 4-of-12 free throws.
"One of the things I wanted to have happen from our last South Portland game to this one was to show grit and toughness and I thought we did that, "Berthiuame said. "It probably would have been easy to roll over, but I'm pleased we got back in it. I think (South Portland's) got really good balance. All five of their starters can score. They're hard to turn over because Annie Whitmore is as solid as they come with the basketball. It's hard to get easy points when we can't turn them over, so we had to make sure we rebound the basketball and they're very good on the backboard too."
Showtime
Gorham projects to match up with Bonny Eagle (2-16) in next week's quarterfinals. The Rams won the regular season meeting, 59-18, Dec. 17 at home.
"I like my team," said Berthiaume. "It's about winning the little battles all over the court. I do think we're coming together and playing good basketball. I think the tournament is going to be terrific. We have to consistently score. If we can consistently score and play the type of defense we've been playing, we'll have a chance."
South Portland will begin its title run against Noble (1-17) in the quarterfinals next week at a date and time to be announced. The teams played way back in the season opener Dec. 6, a 51-19 Red Riots' victory in North Berwick.
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"It's super-exciting to be one," said Whitmore. "I'm glad we were able to stay focused through the season and get everything done to become number one. We need to stay focused in practice, really lock in and keep playing how we play. I'm really excited."
"We have to continue to play as we've been playing," Corcoran said. "We have to stay together as a team and try to take home the Gold Ball."
"We've grown a lot since last season," said Travis. "We have more leadership and experience now. We just need to keep focusing. I think it's all about energy and belief in each other. I think we're more prepared experience-wise."
"We never talked about securing the one seed, just getting to playoffs and making a run," Maloney added. "We have momentum moving forward. It's huge. It's nice to be in a situation where we won't see the top seeds until later on. We'll prep one game at a time. Every game is important. We won't relax at all."
BOX SCORE
South Portland 46 Gorham 40
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SP- 17 2 19 8- 46
G- 3 9 16 12- 40
SP- Whitmore 5-4-15, Travis 4-4-13, Corcoran 6-0-12, Lawrence 2-0-6
G- Doughty 3-3-9, Reed 4-0-8, Walker 3-0-7, Dellinger 2-0-6, Dunbar 2-0-5, W. Moreland 1-1-3, L. Moreland 1-0-2
3-pointers:
SP (4) Lawrence 2, Travis, Whitmore
G (4) Dellinger 2, Dunbar, Walker
Turnovers:
SP- 13
G- 9
Free throws
SP: 8-14
G: 4-12
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Copy the Story Link
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