The Knights jumped out to a quick lead and turned that impressive start into a convincing 58-30 win over Old Orchard Beach Thursday.
Poland, coming off a close loss to Gray-New Gloucester, scored the first 11 points and put the Seagulls in a hole they never recovered from.
“Our goal was to really come out and pressure and jump them right off the start,” Poland coach Mike Susi said. “We talked about getting a fast start immediately.”
Though OOB battled back, the Knights (3-2) sustained the early lead and finished off a solid team win.
“I was really impressed,” sophomore guard Nathalie Theriault said. “I thought we really played hard. We played well as a team. That’s a really big confidence boost for us, and it shows that we can always play like that and play well together.”
Jessica Seeley led the Knights with 12 points, while Theriault and Sarah Moody each had 11. Morgan Brousseau added seven in the post. Poland also got great contributions off the bench. All nine players scored for the Knights. In addition to Moody’s 11, Katelynn Greene, Katelyn Dufour and Victoria Tibbetts all subbed in nicely, chipping in offensively while maintaining the Knight’s solid defensive effort.
“I think we have a lot of similar parts,” Susi said. “There’s not a lot of girls on our team that can’t do something. They all kind of do a little bit of everything. That’s a strength. We talk about it all the time — believing in each other, believing in each other’s skills and believing in what we’re trying to do as a team.”
The Knights graduated five seniors from last year including offensive leaders like Michaela Arsenault and Caroline Littlefield. The Knights were also missing junior forward Sarah Walton to an injury. Though Poland’s starting lineup is made up of mostly sophomores, the Knights are showing progress as a group and building confidence and chemistry. Poland moved the ball effectively throughout the game and did a nice job finding quality shots.
“We knew we had to keep passing the ball to get open looks, especially against their zone,” Theriault said. “We did that and executed.
“After losing so many girls from last year, our offense had a slow start (this year), but I think we’re getting it together. I think it’s going to be a good year.”
Vanessa Hebert led OOB (1-3) with 10 points. The Seagulls were plagued by nearly 30 turnovers and shot just 11-for-38 from the floor. In the first quarter alone, OOB had eight turnovers and shot 3-for-11. The Seagulls had five turnovers and had one shot blocked in the first 2:30 of the game.
“We knew we had to come out strong and we did that,” Theriault said.
Theriault scored the first points with a drive. Sarah Bolduc, the only senior playing Thursday, hit a 3. Brousseau scored in the post. After two free throws by Theriault, Lexy Grondin scored on a drive for an 11-0 lead.
OOB didn’t score until a Victoria Niedzwiecki basket with 4:39 left. The Seagulls tried to work their way back but could never get the deficit below double digits. OOB got within 10 with 1:26 left in the first, but Seeley finished the quarter with a basket and 19-7 lead.
Poland only outscored OOB 13-12 in the second but maintained the lead. Moody hit a 3. Grondin, Theriault, Seeley and Brousseau all scored to keep the Seagulls at bay and down 32-19 at the half.
“We just wanted to chip away,” Susi said. “We didn’t want to play a two-for-three game. We know OOB likes to shoot the 3. We knew that we needed to continue to score on a solid basis because they could hit a couple of 3’s and all of a sudden it’s a different game.”
Poland struggled to hit shots in the third but were tough defensively and kept the lead, holding OOB to just seven points. Then in the fourth, the Knights hit their first five shots and extended the lead.
“We didn’t have to do anything fancy,” Susi said. “We basically had to play our game and play under control. I think that’s the first time we’ve done that for 32 minutes. It wasn’t perfect, but we its the first time where it seemed like we were in control.”
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