GRAY — Monday’s game against Greely felt all too familiar to the Gray-New Gloucester girls’ basketball team.
The shorthanded Patriots fell behind quickly, much like they did in the teams’ previous meeting in last year’s regional semifinals, and fell again Monday, 66-38.
Gray-NG was shorthanded and struggled against a seasoned and talented Greely team that rained down a flurry of 3s in a 57-34 tourney win a year ago, and the Patriots witnessed a similar scenario Monday. Gray-NG is still without guard Alicia Dumont, while a talented Greely club showed little sign of weakness. The Rangers jumped out to a 9-0 lead and then opened the advantage up with another barrage of 3s.
The Patriots rallied to get as close as 27-18 late in the second quarter, but Greely pulled away from there. The Rangers finished the game with 11 3s.
“This one, we kind of dug our way back in,” Gray-NG coach Mike Andreasen said. “The second quarter, we got back into it. Then in the third, they came out and made a good little run and we played no defense. They put 23 up on us in the third quarter.”
Greely got 17 from Moira Train, who also hit five 3s. She scored 20 with five 3s in that tourney win last year. Anna DeWolfe added 16 while Isabel Porter had 15.
“They played better,” Andreasen said. “They are better. They’re a better team than we are. They do things well, and they shoot the ball extremely well.”
The Patriots got 16 from Skye Conley. Alanna Camerl added seven, while Brianna Jordan added six. Though Camerl made a nice return to the lineup from injury, the Patriots were still without Dumont, whose been out with an injury. She may be ready to return as soon as Friday.
“Alanna, it was really her first game back,” said Andreasen, whose team was missing Zoe Adams in the post against Greely in last year’s playoffs. “She did a good job for us there.”
Greely (10-3) is ranked third in Class A South while Gray-NG (10-3) is seeded second in Class B South. It was a good test for the Patriots, who also play York on Friday.
“One thing we’re trying to focus the team on is dealing with the bigger stage,” Andreasen said. “We might be okay with the Expo, but when you get to the Civic Center and all of a sudden the teams are evenly matched, that’s a big stage. Obviously, last year, we didn’t perform on that stage. This was a dress rehearsal, of sorts, for that stage, and it wasn’t a good dress rehearsal either.”
Greely was up 21-4 at the end of the first quarter. The Patriots shot just 1-for-6 and had nine turnovers in the quarter.
“I think our first five possessions there were four turnovers and a missed layup,” Andreasen said. “It was 9-0 before we hit anything. We can’t do that.”
Sarah Felkel started the opening run with a steal and three-point play. DeWolfe had a pair of baskets and Molly Chapin scored on a rebound. The Patriots didn’t score until a Conley three-point play with 2:31 left.
“Our man-to-man defense, we bring energy to our defensive end,” DeWolfe said. “It starts on defense.”
Train hit a 3 and then Porter hit back-to-back 3’s to make it 18-3. The Patriots got a Camerl free throw, but Greely finished the quarter with a drive by DeWolfe for the 21-4 lead.
“We all have confidence in each other,” DeWolfe said. “We can go deep in our bench and still have confidence in everyone on our team. Moving the ball is key to making our shots. Girls can take them and keep shooting if they miss.”
The Patriots started to right the ship a little in the second quarter. Gray-NG started to play better defense. Camerl was a force on the defensive boards while Conley was equaly effective on the offensive end. Greely shot 1-for-10 from the floor to start while Conley scored seven points in the quarter to chip away at the lead.
A Conley three-point play and rebound basket produced a 7-0 run that cut the lead to 24-13. Greely answered with a 3 by Train with 2:50 left. The Patriots tried to rally again. Ashley Jordan hit a jumper and Brianna Jordan and Conley hit free throws to trim the lead to 27-18. Greey got a DeWolfe 3 to end the half up 30-18.
“We just needed to get our heads together and stay on the same page,” DeWolfe said. “We had to pick up on defense. If they comeback, we just have to make sure we take good looks and play good defense.”
Greely finished the game with a 16-2 run in the third. Porter had eight points in the quarter, including a pair of 3’s. DeWolfe had six points as Greely outscored the Patriots 23-8. Conley had six of the Patriots eight points.
“We get down by that kind of score the offense need to get clicking,” Andreasen said. “That’s hard for us to do. The 38 points that we put up is only about seven or eight points below our average.”
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