AUGUSTA — Scott Wing might have worried about execution and nerves Tuesday, but he wasn’t concerned about effort.
If there’s any certainty with his Monmouth Academy girls’ basketball team, it has been the never-say-die attitude it has displayed all season.
The Mustangs needed that in their Western C quarterfinal Tuesday as Monmouth fell behind Old Orchard Beach early. The Mustangs used a valiant effort to rally in the second half but fell short in a 63-57 OOB win.
“One thing I can never fault my kids on all season is the effort,” said Wing. “They never give up. They didn’t have an ounce of quit in them. We gave ourselves the opportunities. We just had to finish those couple of shots.”
The Mustangs were down by as many as 12 early in the fourth quarter but still pulled within one point twice in the final minutes.
“I honestly think that was the best game we’ve played this year,” said Wing. “That’s all I can ask for as a coach. We made some jitter mistakes early on. None of these kids have set foot on this court — ever. That was to be expected.”
That was to Old Orchard’s advantage. The Gulls opened an early lead and maintained it for most of the game.
“We’ve been here before,” said OOB coach Dean Plante. “My seniors have been to this tournament three straight years. My freshmen and sophomores don’t know anything but this place. We talked about that being an advantage to us.”
Kylie Kemp led the Mustangs (14-6) with 19 points. Sierra Spencer added 11, while Ashley Coulombe and Melissa Brassard chipped in nine and eight, respectively.
OOB (14-5) got 25 from Christine Colman and 12 from Abby Dubois. Both had huge baskets down the stretch to help OOB fend off the Mustangs.
“We got big baskets when we needed them,” said Plante.
The Mustangs used a 13-4 run early in the fourth to erase a 49-37 deficit. Monmouth, which hit 14 straight free throws in the second half, utilized the foul shots to trim the lead.
“We talked about getting the ball inside,” said Wing. “When we get the ball inside that means Kylie gets the ball. She’s a damn good free-throw shooter. So getting the ball to the right people was key.”
Kemp hit 11 free throws and eight in the second half. She had five points during the Mustangs’ rally.
After a Coulombe steal and basket, Dubois made it 51-39. Danielle Bumann scored. Then Kemp hit two free throws after a technical foul on Plante. Monmouth turned the possession into a pair of Brassard free throws, making it 51-45 with 5:08 left. Dubois scored off a fast break, but Coulombe converted a steal. Then Kemp scored on a three-point play. After an OOB free throw, Spencer hit a 3 to cut it to 54-53 with 2:54 left.
Monmouth had the chance to take the lead. Spencer passed up a 3 and had a look at a baseline jumper. It missed and took a strong bounce to the top of the paint where Dubois raced the other way for a layup with 1:58 left. Monmouth got another 3 from Spencer with 1:30 left to cut it to 56-55. Colman answered that with a 3 of her own from the corner with 1:14 left. Wing said a rotation of players helped lead to the wrong coverage on that shot.
“She’s been steady all year,” said Plante. “We’re balanced. So for her to score over 20, that’s a heck of a night. We needed that big night, and she stepped up.”
Monmouth got within 59-57 on a Kemp rebound with 37 seconds left. Free throws by Anna Foss and Colman sealed it in the final seconds.
“They were feeling the pressure when we came back,” said Wing. “We just needed to get one more to get that control in our hands.”
OOB used a 12-0 run in the first quarter to open up the lead. Trailing 8-5, Colman scored eight points during that run, including a 3 and a three-point play to give the Gulls all the momentum.
Down 17-13 after the first, Monmouth was within 21-18 after five straight points, but OOB’s Colman hit a 3 and Lauralee Small converted a three-point play. Another 3 by Colman and a 3 from Julie Fregeau gave OOB a 33-26 lead at the half.
Monmouth shot just 1-for-12 from the floor and got most of its points from the foul line but trailed 47-37 after three quarters.
kmills@sunjournal.com
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