Lady Warriors advance in ‘D’ tournament

16 years ago

Warriors meet defeat in quarterfinal round against Shead

By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer

    The outcomes of the Class D quarterfinals for the Southern Aroostook girls and boys were different, as the Lady Warriors narrowly escaped Bangor Christian, 49-48 to advance to Thursday’s semifinal game against Fort Fairfield, winner over Katahdin, at 2:05 p.m. at the Bangor Auditorium.
ImageOVER ‘D’ – Southern Aroostook’s Tyler Robinson shoots over Shead’s Wayne Clossey during Monday’s Class D quarterfinal game at the Bangor Auditorium. The Warriors were defeated, 70-56.
   “Bangor Christian was a tough opponent,” said SACS girls’ coach Jessica Porter. “They matched up with us in size and speed.”
    For the Warriors, it was a bittersweet loss, as a change in the defensive scheme for Shead led to a 70-56 loss.
    Last Saturday night in Bangor, the Lady Warriors played evenly with the Bangor Christian Patriots to start the game, as SACS held an 8-6 lead as senior Brittany Charette had four of those points. It was Rochelle Nadeau (six-point first half) who pushed the Lady Warriors’ lead to 14-6 with back-to-back shots before Bangor Christian’s Whitney Holmes hit a 3-pointer. With three minutes left to intermission, the Lady Warriors held a five-point lead behind a Jasmine Rockwell layup. A Lauren McGary (six points in the first half) layup and a Charette free throw closed out the half, giving Southern Aroostook a 21-16 advantage.
    The Lady Warriors held a slight advantage over Bangor Christian in the third, 23-18, but they couldn’t shake the Patriots, who tied the game at 24-all after a Kelly Robinson shot.
    “We know going into the tournament that whoever we are matched up with regardless of seed or record is going to be a quality team,” Porter explained. “I felt the girls played with great energy. Defensively they worked hard. Offensively they showed some good composure.”
ImageSUPPORT – Southern Aroostook’s Evangeline Goodall, No. 10, goes up strong with the rebound, while teammates Liz Bergan and Lauren McGary back her on the boards. The Lady Warriors edged Bangor Christian, 49-48 to advance to Thursday’s semifinal at 2:05 p.m. in Bangor against Fort Fairfield.
    Just before intermission, SACS point guard Evangeline Goodall picked up her third personal, putting Nadeau back in the game. Rockwell and Nadeau swapped baskets with Meredith Bean and Holmes, but it was a Robinson free throw that gave Bangor Christian a 29-28 lead.
    The action heated up in the fourth quarter, as the scoring went back and forth until Southern Aroostook made some space midway through the period. A Nadeau layup gave the Lady Warriors a 30-29 lead to start the decisive fourth quarter. A layup by Liz Goodall and another by Charette, along with a free throw pushed SACS’ lead to 37-33 with 5:41 to play.
    “It seemed like just as soon as we would make a run to get up by five or six points, Bangor Christian would always come back,” said Porter. “I feel like BC’s foul shooting percentage was what kept them in the game. They capitalized better then we did from the line.”
    But, the Goodall twins, Evangline and Liz, were forced to the bench each with foul trouble, as the Patriots brought the game back to within a point, 39-38 with just over three minutes to go.
    With Bangor Chrisitan pressuring, Liz Goodall scored nine points and had one huge steal to lift Southern Aroostook to the win.
ImageRochelle Nadeau on the drive to the hoop.
    “I didn’t really see it,” said Goodall of the steal, as she agreed she was in the right place at the right time.
    An Emma Johnson’s 3-pointer with a second left wasn’t enough to overtake the Lady Warriors.
    “In the fourth quarter, the scoring seemed to pick up on both sides,” said Porter. “It was back and forth.”
    It took a team effort to overcome the Patriots, which is a trademark of the Lady Warriors.
    “Lauren [McGary] played an overall great game, as she contained BC’s post players, along with the help of Brittany [Charette] and Liz Bergan,” Porter said. “Rochelle Nadeau came off the bench and gave a spark offensively and defensively, while Evangeline Goodall, along with Janel and Jasmine Rockwell worked hard defensively.”
ImageLiz Goodall plays close defense on a Bangor Christian guard.
    Porter said throughout the year, the Lady Warriors used a balanced scoring attack with contributions from a number of players. But, none bigger than Liz Goodall in the fourth. Held scoreless through three periods, Goodall led the team with all of her 12 points in the fourth quarter, while Charette, Nadeau and McGary all had eight points.
    “I was proud of the way the girls handled the adversity they faced during the course of the game, considering the very limited to no tournament experience they have had,” Porter added. “ Thursday’s game against Fort Fairfield will be another tough test. They play a similar style as our team. They rebound very well and that is something that we will need to be focusing on during our next few practices.”
ImageAN OPENING – Southern Aroostook’s Brittany Charette eyes an opening and dribbles toward the open lane during last Saturday night’s Class D quarterfinal game against Bangor Christian. The Lady Warriors face Fort Fairfield at 2:05 p.m. on Thursday at the Auditorium.
Tigers overtake Warriors
    In the boys’ game on Monday, Shead adapted defensively after Southern Aroostook’s Dakota Sleeper hit a 3-pointer and two layups to give the Warriors an 11-3 advantage in the first period.
    However, Shead utilized its interior game behind Justin Lewey, Wayne Clossey and Tyler Mitchell  for a 7-0 run to take a 12-11 lead with under a minute in the quarter before Tyler Robinson’s driving layup would give SACS a 15-14 opening-period lead. The Tigers pounded the ball inside against the Warriors  and with a 13-2 surge opened up a 27-17 lead with 3:58 to halftime.
    “We played good for the first two minutes,” said junior Dakota Sleeper. “They came out of their 3-2 defense quick and went to a box-and-one. We’ve been able to handle it this past year. But, that kid was one of the best defenders we played against.”
Image Southern Aroostook’s Dakota Sleeper drives to the hoop during Monday’s Class D quarterfinal game against Shead.
    Caleb Ricker of Shead go the defensive call to stick with Sleeper, and like glue he did, as the Tigers changed the complexity of the game, forcing offense to come from other sources than Sleeper.
    “We expected the box-and-one,” said coach Vaughn Sleeper. “They were quicker than I thought they were. Lewey and the other seniors are tough players.”
    The Warriors cut into the lead at halftime, 31-25, after Robinson’s two 3-pointers.
    Shead wouldn’t get rattled and stayed with their game plan increasing their double-digit lead with six minutes left in the third. But, it wouldn’t be that easy as back-to-back shots by Sleeper cut the lead to four points.
Image ImageJesse Small grabs a rebound and Stephen Grant denies Shead’s Tyler Mitchell. The Tigers won, 70-56.
    Then Thomas Pottles’ jumper made it 46-38 and a change of momentum hit at the 1:25 mark of the third. Southern Aroostook was tagged with a technical foul after Pottle’s fast-break basket led to a frustrated Sleeper slapping the backboard. Pottle hit both free throws and after Shead inbounded the ball, Pottle sank a 3-pointer and with it the Warriors’ hopes, as the Tigers spread the lead in the fourth quarter to 19 points and never looked back.
    Senior Tyler Robinson and Sleeper each had 13 points for the Warriors, while Jesse Small added eight points.
    “Most people didn’t think we’d be in the tourney run,” said Sleeper. “We’ll be all right next year. We should be in the tourney run again.”
    Coach Sleeper was pleased with his team’s performance.
    “This was the first time on the floor for many of these guys,” he said. “I’m happy with the way we played. I’m proud of them. We set a goal to get here and we did. I’m not disappointed one bit.”