HODGDON, Maine — Superior size resulted in the Hodgdon girls basketball team pulling away from a pesky East Grand squad Tuesday evening.
The Hawks (3-1) used their height advantage to rally from a 12-6 first quarter deficit to pick up a a 27-21 victory over East Grand (0-5). Senior Janelle Goff led the Hawks with 13 points, mostly from inside the paint, while freshman Kylee Mooers added six points and eight rebounds. Junior Kora Lambert hauled in 11 boards for Hodgdon.
Hodgdon’s Kylee Mooers, middle, puts up a one-handed shot from inside the paint Tuesday as East Grand’s Mallory Gilman defends. In the background is Viking Haleigh Shay.
(Joseph Cyr)
East Grand was paced by senior Haleigh Shay who had seven points and freshman Natalie Golding, who netted six.
Hodgdon’s Kora Lambert, left, comes down with one of her 11 rebounds Tuesday evening as East Grand’s Faith Lindsay defends.
(Joseph Cyr)
“The girls are working extremely hard in practice and during the games,” Hodgdon coach Wendell Harvey said. “The key to our success so far has been our defense. It has kept us in games when we are struggling to score. We have good post players and we try to play to our strengths. If we can get our outside shot going I think we will be competitive in most of our games.”
It was the Vikings who started quickly, jumping to a 7-2 lead in the first four minutes of action. Hodgdon chipped away, but Shay put East Grand up 12-6 at the end of the period as she drained a 3-pointer.
“We were fresh at the start of the game,” East Grand coach Mike Carlos said of his team’s hot start. “When you only have seven bodies, it makes it very difficult to sustain that momentum. We just ran out of gas (in the second half.)”
Despite having just seven players, the Vikings still attempted to press Hodgdon defensively. That tactic was one of the key reasons East Grand was able to jump to the quick lead as Hodgdon had a couple of turnovers, which the Vikings capitalized on.
The Hawks continued to climb back into the game in the second period, holding East Grand to just two points, while scoring eight of their own. Goff had five of Hodgdon’s points for the quarter, as the two squads were knotted at 14-14 at halftime.
Hodgdon took its first lead early in the third quarter as Lambert sank a pair of free throws. East Grand struggled to finish its shots in the period, scoring just two points, which allowed Hodgdon to build a 21-16 lead after three quarters.
“I am pleased with the way we played,” coach Carlos said. “For the kids we have, we are now playing good basketball. The girls give a great effort and as long as that continues, the wins will come.”
East Grand’s Jordyn Cowger takes the ball to the hoop as Hodgdon’s Emma Drew defends during Tuesday night’s game. (Joseph Cyr)
