Lady Warriors fall prey to Tigers in semis

16 years ago

By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer

    A defensive scheme of changing zones stymied the Southern Aroostook Lady Warriors in the Class D semifinals last Thursday night at the Bangor Auditorium.

ImageAbbie Hunt photograph
DEFENSE – Southern Aroostook’s Brittany Charette plays defense against Fort Fairfield’s Amanda Hotham during the Class D semifinal game in Bangor. The Lady Warriors were defeated 54-47.

    The Fort Fairfield Tigers executed to perfection switching 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone defenses to keep the Lady Warriors off balance through the first half of the ballgame. The Lady Tigers mirrored the usual style of Southern Aroostook … defensive pressure leading to transition points.
    The Lady Warriors fell 54-47.
    “The girls got a bit rattled in the first half and Fort Fairfield took advantage of our mistakes with some break away layups,” said SACS coach Jessica Porter. “We did not do a good job of making Fort earn their points in the first half. On the other hand, we had to work for every point we got.  Give Fort Fairfield credit, they played well and we did not.”
    The Lady Warriors trailed 8-6 after Lauren McGary baseline shot, but Liz Goodall’s spin move in the paint knotted the game and Evangeline Goodall’s 3-pointer with 12 seconds to go in the opening period gave SACS their only lead of the game, 11-10.
    But then the Lady Tigers used a 20-5 scoring surge behind Courtney Churchill’s 12 points  — 10 off fast breaks — and Amanda Hotham’s 6-for-6 first half free throw shooting to forge a 30-16 halftime lead. The Lady Warriors were frustrated offensively scoring just two field goals … Shelby Hartin’s offensive put back with just over three minutes left in the period and Rochelle Nadeau’s buzzer-beating 3-point heave.
    Fort Fairfield started the third period in the same style they left off the first half, building a 20-point lead on a Whitney Clark 3-pointer, 36-16 with just over six minutes in the quarter. But the Lady Warriors mounted a comeback, started by Liz Goodall draining a 3-pointer to spark her team to a 15-0 run in the last five minutes of the third quarter.
    “After getting down in the first half, I was pleased that the girls fought back and kept playing,” Porter said. “We made a solid run in the third quarter to get within striking distance.”
    The Lady Warriors responded with Brittany Charette’s baseline shot, followed by Goodall’s set shot on a nifty behind-the-back pass back out to Goodall on the wing, a Rochelle Nadeau free throw and five points from Evangeline Goodall, including a 3-point field goal with 2:48 left in the third. The scoring swell ended where it began with Liz Goodall driving to the hoop to draw the Lady Warriors to within five points, 36-31.
    The Lady Tigers used a 10-0 spurt over the end of third to midway through the fourth to engineer a 15-point lead. The Lady Warriors wouldn’t quit, as they mounted their last rally of the game behind seniors Charette and Liz Bergan in the last four minutes of play.
    After Evangeline Goodall hit from the baseline, Charette drove for a three-point play and sank four free throws, bringing SACS to within eight points, 52-40 with two minutes left. Bergan went to work with an offensive follow up, a steal, a free throw and another offensive put back to cut the lead to 53-47 with 43 seconds to go, but that was all the offense the Lady Warriors could muster as time ran out.
    “Fort Fairfield made their foul shots throughout the game and down the stretch to hold the lead,” said Porter. “It is disappointing, we had control over the way we played and reacted to the pressure of playing in the semifinals. As a team, we did not have the same level of composure that we have shown at times this year. When we play with composure we are a very good team. When we do not, we are an average team.  Our youth and inexperience showed a bit on Thursday night.”
    Evangeline Goodall and Charette finished the game with 11 points a piece, while Liz Goodall had nine points, Bergan five and Nadeau and McGary each had four.
    For Fort Fairfield, Churchill scored 16 points, while Hotham had 13 points, going 9-for-10 from the line and hitting two field goals. Clark tossed in eight points and Kaitlyn McLaughlin knocked down seven points.
    The Lady Warriors finish the season at 17-3.    
    “I felt we had a very successful season,” Porter said. “As a team, we improved every day and the girls played some good basketball down the stretch. I felt defensively when we played with composure and discipline that defensively we could shut a lot of teams down.”
    The Lady Warriors graduate two seniors Bergan and Charette.
    “They were fantastic captains leading by example on the floor,” said Porter. “They never complained and worked hard when on the floor. Their leadership will be sorely missed next season.”
    But, the Lady Warriors return a strong nucleus of players who are tourney tested.
    “If these girls can learn from their experiences this season, come back with a hunger to play, and gel as a unit, we should be back in the hunt for post season play next year,” Porter added.

ImageAbbie Hunt photograph
PASSING – Southern  Aroostook’s Evangeline Goodall looks for an open teammate to pass to, during the Class D semifinal game against Fort Fairfield. The Lady Warriors fell short 54-47. Goodall was named Honorable Mention to the All-Tournament Class D team.