LIVERMORE FALLS – Five wins and one coulda-shoulda into the Mountain Valley Conference girls’ basketball campaign, Livermore Falls’ rise from its perpetual middle-of-the-pack residency is December’s worst-kept secret this side of the news that Johnny Damon was about to become a Yankee.
We knew the Andies were better than they had been since most of the current players learned how to chew gum and dribble simultaneously. But this good? After Tuesday night’s 67-52 mauling of Mt. Abram, you can erase another tally from the list of available seats on the Livermore Falls bandwagon.
“They are capable of winning it all,” said Mt. Abram coach Doug Lisherness. “I’m not saying they’re going to win it all, but they’re right up there.”
The same hyper-caffeinated tempo that cost Livermore Falls (5-1) a 15-point, third-quarter lead last week against undefeated Hall-Dale was the Andies’ best friend this time out.
By pounding the backboards, creating cinchy layups and annoying the daylights out of the Roadrunners’ young playmakers with full-court pressure, Livermore Falls transformed a 14-point deficit late in the second quarter into a double-digit lead by the end of the third period.
“We proved that we can come back and win it, no matter what,” said junior guard Marjorie DeBrosky, who didn’t even start the game but missed out on a triple-double by a smidge with 15 points, nine rebounds and nine steals.
Debrosky helped frontcourt starters Jenika Kelley (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Lacey Hazelton (six points, 10 boards) get physical with Mt. Abram while combining with Taryn Flagg and Rachel Ventrella to create oodles of defensive havoc.
The get-tough philosophy came with a price, as the explosive Flagg was one of a handful of Andies mired in foul trouble throughout. But Flagg still scored 18 points before fouling out with 2:50 left, and the baseline-to-baseline resistance left Mt. Abram’s offense discombobulated from the middle of the second stanza to the conclusion.
“We don’t care about winning the first quarter,” said Livermore Falls coach Frank Donald, who was once an assistant to long-time Mt. Abram boss Lisherness for three seasons. “There’s one thing about Doug’s teams. They may play well, they may not play well, but they play hard for 32 minutes. You have to match that intensity.”
Freshman Kenni Norton led Mt. Abram with 18 points and seven steals. Heather Hayes added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Roadrunners, who committed 32 turnovers and were a frosty 12-for-31 from the free-throw line.
Mt. Abram led 33-19 with just over two minutes remaining before Livermore Falls slashed the tires. DeBrosky’s drive, a Ventrella 3-pointer and transition buckets by Flagg and DeBrosky provided the Andies nine unanswered points in less than a minute. Flagg, playing with three fouls, nailed two free throws in the final minute before the break to make it a 35-31 deficit.
While holding the Roadrunners (3-3) to 2-for-15 efficiency from the field in the third quarter, Livermore Falls unleashed a 17-3 run to seize command for keeps. Flagg scored seven in the period before acquiring her fourth foul, but Kelley, DeBrosky, Ventrella and Rebecca Leclerc also scored in the stretch to accumulate a 53-42 lead.
“People think if we lose Taryn, we’re in trouble,” said Donald. “It’s not true. We go seven or eight deep. Someone like Marjorie would start for most teams, but we have the chance to put her in there when the starters maybe are getting a little tired, and you can see the kind of lift she gives us.”
koakes@sunjournal.com
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