Lady Shires defeated by WA Raiders

By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    In last Wednesday’s Class C quarterfinal game, it was experience versus non-experience, as the No. 5 Washington Academy Raiders (15-4) overtook No. 4 Houlton (14-5), 45-38.
    In the first quarter, the Lady Shires were led by 1,000-point scorer Vanessa Sanderson, who scored eight of her team’s 10 points mostly on one-on-one moves to the hoop, as Washington Academy held a four-point advantage. Sanderson seemed unstoppable in the early going, but then Washington Academy adjusted, throwing double and triple teams at her.
LOOKING – Houlton’s Amanda Fogarty looks for an open teammate during last Wednesday’s quarterfinal game against Washington Academy.
    “It was tough for me,” Sanderson said, “especially being a point guard. It was hard to get an offensive flow going during the game.”
    Sanderson finished with 20 points (10 in each half), while Amanda Fogarty tossed in six; Tori Hanson netted five; Martha McPartland added three and Makala Folsom and Marina Cameron each chipped in a basket.
    “Vanessa has been stellar for us all season,” said Houlton coach Shawn Graham. “We weren’t able to get the same balanced offensive attack as Washington Academy, which allowed them to double and triple Vanessa a lot. My other players seemed a bit timid in taking the open 12 to 14-foot jumper that they were giving us. We’ve talked a lot all season about trying to get everyone to look to score, but it just didn’t happen today.”
    For the Raiders, Taylor Seeley led the balanced attack with 11 points, while Andi Flannery and Christy Smith scored eight points and Sarah Lehman had six second-half points.
GETTING BY – Houlton’s Martha McPartland takes her man off the dribble to the hoop during last Wednesday’s Class C quarterfinal game against Washington Academy. The Lady Shires were defeated, 45-38.
    “We did miss a few defensive assignments with some of our younger players not picking up their player in time (on man-to-man defense), and not rotating down on the weak side in our 1-3-1,” explained Graham. “Possibly walking on to the Auditorium floor for the first time in a game situation may have been a bit overwhelming and they got caught up in the moment. That’s understandable and hopefully they can learn from it.”
    The Lady Shires’ offense slowed in the second period, as Houlton had several missed opportunities from the field as well as the free throw line, which proved costly. The Raiders pounded the boards, extending their lead to 23-18.
    “I also thought that being undersized hurt us because we didn’t do a very good job making contact and boxing them out particularly in the first half,” said Graham. “I knew that would be key coming into the game as Washington Academy had a couple of girls (Seeley and Flannery) who were very active around the basket.”
DEFENSE – Houlton’s Makala Folsom plays tight defense against Washington Academy’s Christy Smith during the Class C quarterfinal game last Wednesday at the Bangor Auditorium.
    But, being small in the interior — Houlton’s tallest player at 5-foot, 8-inches — wasn’t anything that the Lady Shires weren’t familiar with, as they struggled a bit with this all season, according to Graham.
    “We were giving up second and third opportunities,” he said. “For the most part, good teams find a way of making you pay for your mistakes and Washington Academy did just that.”
    After intermission, the Lady Shires regrouped and after Sanderson’s drive through the middle of the lane for a layup, Fogarty found Hanson all alone of the weak side for another basket. After Flannery fouled Hanson for her fourth foul, Hanson hit 1-of-2 free throws to bring Houlton to within two points, 25-23 with over four minutes to play in the quarter.
    After a Washington Raider 3-pointer, Sanderson answered with an old-fashioned three-point play on an offensive put back and free throw and then Hanson had her own offensive putback to tie the game, 28-28.
WATCHING – Houlton’s Taylor Bailey and Washington Academy’s Andi Flannery watch the ball and get ready for rebounding action in last Wednesday’s quarterfinal game in Bangor.
    The Raiders retook the lead after the Lady Shires didn’t rotate quickly enough on defense, Lehman made a wide open layup. Houlton turned the ball over and then the Raiders Smith put the ball up and under her defender for a basket for a 32-28 lead with over a minute left.
    The last Houlton shot of the third came when Fogarty shot over two defenders in the post. However, Lehman spotted up for a hoop to give her team a 34-30 lead. Houlton did have three chances at the end of the period — the ball was thrown too long on a break, the Raiders blocked a wide-open layup and a miss drive to the hoop — but came up empty.
    To open the decisive final period, the Raiders used an 8-2 surge to stretch the score to 42-32 with just over four minutes to play. Houlton cut the lead in half, 38-43, after a Martha McPartland shot and free throw, along with Sanderson’s 3-pointer with 45 seconds left. The Raiders’ Flannery would finish with two free throws, as time ran out on Houlton.
    “We weren’t able to capitalize when Flannery went out for almost a quarter,” said Graham. “We tried to generate some momentum when she left the game, but they got good offensive balance off the bench and we weren’t able to close the gap.”
    For the Lady Shires, Graham couldn’t have been more pleased with their season.
    “They worked extremely hard for me all season,” he said. “They accomplished about every goal that we had set coming into the season. Getting to the tournament as the four seed and avoiding a prelim game for a team that lost four of its top six players from a year ago is a credit to just how much effort they put into the season. The odds really weren’t in their favor, but they proved us all wrong.”
    The only teams to finish ahead of the Lady Shires in the final Heal Point standings were teams that moved into Class C this year —Foxcroft, Woodland, and Central.