The South Portland girls basketball team enters the Class A tournament on a roll. For the third year in a row, the Red Riots girls finished the season with a 15-3 record, which was good for the second seed in this year’s tournament, which kicks off this week.

Riots head coach Mike Giordano said the entire team is very excited heading into the tournament, and the Riots are looking to advance further than last year, when they lost in the quarterfinals.

Looking back on this season, Giordano said that the team’s 15-3 record and earning the No. 2 seed in Class A West are major highlights. He also said that the Riots’ two wins over McCauley (including a 42-26 win on Jan. 25) were also big season highlights. In addition to the wins over McCauley, the Riots also scored a big 45-35 win over Deering Jan. 5, proving the Riots can play with the tourney’s No. 1 seed.

Looking ahead to the tournament, Giordano said he would be looking for senior guards Kelsey Flaherty and Jess Aceto to provide leadership. “We’ll hang our hats on those two kids,” he said.

As the team gets ready for tournament action, their coach said he feels the Riots have a good shot to be the team that hoists the Gold Ball at the Civic Center after the finals on March 1. “We’re as talented as anyone in the tournament,” said Giordano. “If we play well, we have a chance to win.”

The Riots get their quest for a championship underway with a quarterfinal game against either Gorham or Biddeford at the Portland Expo on Feb. 18 at 3:30 p.m.

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