Oxford Hills’ Jadah Adams grabs a loose ball as Greely’s Emma Spoerri tries to get in on the play from the rights during Saturday night’s match up at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
PARIS — For three quarters, Oxford Hills kept Greely in check like few teams have.
But the Rangers rallied back in the fourth, and defeated the Vikings 46-39 in a showdown between two of the top girls’ basketball teams in the state Saturday.
Oxford Hills led 30-20 after three quarters, but were outscored 26-9 in the final period.
“Our momentum shifted when we started scoring points,” Greely junior Anna DeWolfe, who scored a game-high 19 points, said. “They played outstanding defense, it was hard for us to score points.”
Up to that point, the Vikings had basically executed its defensive gameplan to near perfection. Offensively, they weren’t necessarily lighting up the scoreboard, but they were grinding out enough points that they led by as many as 14 points in the third.
Camille Clement, who scored all 12 of her points during the game’s final 10 minutes, hit to free throws and DeWolfe turned a steal into a layup, and less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Greely had cut Oxford Hills’ lead to 30-24.
Later, Clement hit a 3-pointer to make it 34-31, and then Madison Scott hit another trey to tie the game at 41-41 with 4:02 remaining.
“It was just one of those (things), you felt like everything was turning the other direction, and we couldn’t stop it from turning the other direction,” Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier said.
DeWolfe swished a pull-up jumper after a steal to give the Rangers their first lead of the game, 43-41, and they continued to add to it over the next four minutes.
“We made a couple baskets and then we picked up full-court man, and I think that helped generate our offense,” Greely coach Todd Flaherty said. “That’s happened a couple times before where we picked up our pressure and then that helps our offense out.”
Pelletier was surprised that the Vikings weren’t able to better control the chaos of the Rangers’ press.
“They ramped up their defense a little bit, and we, which I didn’t expect, kind of just weren’t ready for that,” Pelletier said. “Our guards have been good all year at dealing with pressure, and I know they’re good enough to deal with pressure, but for some reason today it just kind of got to us, and we turned the ball over a little too much in the fourth quarter.”
Maighread Laliberte scored the game’s first seven points, as the Vikings held the Rangers scoreless for the first five minutes of the game. Greely caught up, but Oxford Hills led 9-7 heading into the second, and then 19-14 at halftime.
The Vikings opened the second half on a 9-0 run to double-up the Rangers, 28-14, before Greely finished the period on a 6-2 run that was a precursor to its fourth-quarter rally, particularly the 3-pointer Clement made in the final minute.
“Our goal was to limit the 3-point shot, and we did for three quarters,” Pelletier said. “And then the fourth quarter happens, and for some reason it got a little helter skelter and we left some 3-point shooters open and they got hot, and we just couldn’t counter with some baskets, just here or there.”
Laliberte led Oxford Hills with 14 points, and Jadah Adams scored 10.
The Vikings have another big-time game Monday when they host defending Class AA defending champion Gorham.
Pelletier said the quick turnaround might be advantageous because allows the Vikings to move on from Saturday’s loss. But they won’t forget the lessons learned from facing Greely.
“You know what? As a team that, we’re in a situation where we’re going to make the playoffs, you kind of want to have situations like that so you know what you got to work on for tournament time,” Pelletier said. “It just sucks it happens like that. You’d rather be able to work on it knowing that you almost lost, not that it just made you lose a game.”
Greely’s Emma Spoerri and Oxford Hills’ Jadah Adams both reach for a loose ball as Greely’s Brooke Obar and Oxford Hills’ Maighread Laliberte look on during Saturday night’s match up at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Oxford Hills’ Ceceila Dieterich moves towards the basket with Greely’s Brooke Obar right behind her during Saturday night’s match up at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Oxford Hills’ Maighread Laliberte goes up for a basket in amidst a sea of Greely players during Saturday night’s match up at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Oxford Hills’ Maighread Laliberte goes up for a basket past Greely’s Emma Spoerri during Saturday night’s match up at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Oxford Hills’ Cassidy Dumont goes up for a layup during Saturday night’s match up at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. Greely’s Madison Scott and Camille Clement play defense. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Oxford Hills’ Brooke Carson hustles the ball downt eh court past Greely’s Kelsey currier during Saturday night’s match up at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Oxford Hills’ Maighread Laliberte looks to the basket as Greely’s Brooke Obar looks on from behind during Saturday night’s match up at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Oxford Hills’ Ceceila Dieterich takes the ball downt eh court past Greely’s Anna DeWolfe during Saturday night’s match up at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Oxford Hills’ Julia Colby goes for a shot in the final moments of the game as Greely’s Madison Scott and Julia Martel attempt to block during Saturday night’s game at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
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