SACS comeback efforts thwarted by Washburn

By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
    WASHBURN – Key victories are coming early and often for the Beaver girls basketball team.
    On Thursday, Washburn bolted to an 18-point first-half lead but still had to withstand a furious second-half comeback effort in posting a 48-42 triumph over Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook.
    The win was Washburn’s third consecutive to begin the season (the team made it four with a win over Van Buren the following night), and all three were against teams that made it at least to the Eastern Maine Class D semifinals last winter in Central Aroostook, state champion Fort Fairfield and SA.
    In Thursday’s game, Washburn got off to an impressive start, holding the Warriors to just two field goals over the first 15 minutes of play, including a 5:04 scoring drought in the first quarter that included seven turnovers forced by the pesky Beaver defense.
PASSES — Southern Aroostook’s Shelby Hartin bounce passes to a teammate around Washburn’s Olivia Doody.  The Lady Warriors fell 48-42.
    Offensively, freshman Nicole Olson keyed the attack by draining three perimeter shots in the first half, two from beyond the three-point stripe, while five of her teammates also figured into the scoring before intermission. A basket by freshman guard Carmen Bragg with 1:53 left in the second quarter put Washburn up 26-8. The hosts settled for a 29-15 lead at intermission.
    “I thought our ball movement was really good and our offense ran smoothly,” said Washburn’s Rebecca Campbell of her team’s first-half performance.
    Warrior coach Cliff Urquhart was impressed with the defense applied by the Beavers, but still said his squad needed to do a better job taking care of the basketball.
    “They are really resilient on defense,” he said. “They are scrappy, they trap well, they run up and down the court. But I was disappointed with our 13 first-half turnovers.”
    The start of the third quarter was the time for the Warriors to make their move, and they did so by taking advantage of foul trouble incurred by Beaver seniors Campbell and Sarah Sjoberg. They each picked up their fourth personal foul within 21 seconds of each other midway through the third period. The pair left the game with their team ahead, 34-20, but SA went on to reel off 12 points in succession to draw to within two with 6:44 to play in the fourth.
    Inside players Shelby Hartin and Sable Altvater combined for seven of the points, while Jasmine Rockwell sunk a three in the final seconds of the third quarter following an offensive rebound to keep the pressure on.
    “I told them at halftime that with their foul trouble, we needed to take it to them and that’s what we did,” Urquhart said. “We were able to utilize the inside more and did a better job of reacting to their pressure.”
JUMPER — SACS Jasmine Rockwell pulls up for a jumper over Washburn’s Olivia Doody.
    Sjoberg fouled out at the end of the run, but Washburn sophomore guard Rayah Saucier came through with a high-arching 15-footer and consecutive free throws to quell the rally.
    However, Rockwell was fouled as she hit another three-pointer with 5:42 remaining, and the ensuing free throw cut the margin to two once again.
    “[Jasmine] got hot and we gave them a scare,” Urquhart said. “Down 14 at half, I was happy with the way we came back.”
    At that point, however, Olson spearheaded another scoring surge for Washburn that secured the win. She netted two field goals, while Bragg, reserve center Olivia Doody and Campbell added one apiece as the Beavers scored 10 of the game’s next 12 points to secure the win.
    Olson’s 14 points were tops for Washburn, while Campbell avoided fouling out and finished with 11 points and Saucier totaled eight in the contest.
    Rockwell fired in 16 points, Altvater 14 and Hartin 12 for the Warriors, who suffered their second consecutive loss to begin the season.