Gray-New Gloucester guard Brianna Jordan looks to regain control of the ball while being defended by Mount Desert Island guard Hannah Chamberllain during the Class B girls basketball state championship at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland on Saturday on Saturday. Portland Press Herald photo by Carl D. Walsh
PORTLAND — Bri Jordan always finds a way to put her stamp on a game.
On Saturday, she not only put her stamp on Gray-New Gloucester’s 43-30 win over Mount Desert Island, but also on the most successful four-year run in the school’s basketball history.
That stamp will always read “The Bri Jordan Era.”
The four-year starter scored a game-high 15 points (seven in the fourth quarter), limited MDI’s best player, senior forward Georgia Candace, to six points and was the catalyst for the Patriots’ game-ending 9-0 run.
“Her statistics aren’t always gaudy,” Gray-New Gloucester coach Mike Andreasen said of his 5-foot-10 senior point guard. “She’s not (scoring) 27 points a game. But every game, she has to play the other team’s best player. She had to bring the ball up the court. She has to rebounds. She finds a way to put a stamp on a game.”
With the Patriots clinging to a 34-30 with 3:53 left, Jordan drew the fifth foul on her MDI counterpart, senior point guard Alexis Clarito, sank both ensuing free throws, produced a steal at midcourt that led to a Jordan Grant layup that made it 38-30, then sank two more free throws to put the game out of reach at 40-30 with 3:19 left.
“We just tried not to panic. We tried to keep composed and keep our emotions inside,” Jordan said. “We all care about each other a lot and we all trust each other, so I think that trust really helps us stay calm and then eventually pull it out.”
Starting in her third state championship game in four years, Jordan was the epitome of composure, from the opening tip to the nail-biting climax when MDI trimmed a 10-point Patriot lead to four in the fourth quarter.
“I think because I’ve been in these games before, I’ve grown to become comfortable,” Jordan said. “I wasn’t nervous today. A lot of the girls were because it was their first time actually being able to play (in a state championship game). I was pretty comfortable, so it was, I think maybe in a sense, easier for me.”
It might have been easier on her blood pressure, but make no mistake, the Patriots relied heavily on Jordan the past couple of years.
Mount Desert Island guard Jullia Watras dribbles beneath Gray-New Gloucester’s Jordan Grant, left, and Brianna Jordan, as MDI’s Georgia Candage looks on from behind during the Class B girls basketball state championship at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland on Saturday on Saturday. Portland Press Herald photo by Carl D. Walsh
“She was fortunate because her first two years, she was with a great senior class ahead of her, and she could just play,” Andreasen said. “The last two years with Bri, it’s been, ‘I’ve got to be the leader out there.’ I think a lot of times, she tends to get overlooked by people, especially when they come up with ‘All-this team’ or ‘All-that team,’ but she wins. She does whatever she needs to do to win.”
“We’re just to miss her leadership,” he added. “Every day she keeps kids grounded. She keeps kids pumped.”
Fellow senior Alexa Thayer remembers watching Jordan help Gray-New Gloucester to a state title game their freshman year, which they lost to Houlton, then help the Patriots get revenge, and their first gold ball, the following year against the Shiretowners.
Thayer, who started in the backcourt with Jordan on Saturday and had her own hand in helping Gray-New Gloucester win its second gold ball, felt like a part of those teams as a freshman and sophomore watching from the sidelines.
“Even though we didn’t all play as much, we all felt like it was ours,” Thayer said.
“Watching her succeed as well as she did, I’m just really proud of her,” she added. “She does a lot for the team.”
According to Jordan, who’s next stop will be nearby St. Joseph’s College, her teammates lifted her to championship form, not the other way around.
“I played in middle school with all of these girls, and we’ve just been building together,” Jordan said. “I don’t think they’ve necessarily followed me, but they were with me. Even if they didn’t get the playing time, they were still there. They were right with me. It’s pretty cool growing up with your best friends and playing with them.”
But only Jordan can say she started in 85 of 86 varsity games (she came off the bench for senior night her freshman year), played in three state championship games and put an indelible stamp on her program and school.
“It’s been a great four years,” Jordan said.
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