The Gorham girls basketball team was conceding plenty of height and experience when it took the court against Noble on Tuesday night. But for 32 minutes, the Rams never conceded a rebound, loose ball or unchallenged basket.

In the end, Noble 6’1″ senior standout Sloane Sorrell proved too much, scoring 25 points and clogging the lane on defense to lift her team to a 43-38 win at Gorham High School. Noble, No. 3 in the initial Class A West Heal Point standings, improved to 6-2, while No. 11 Gorham fell to 3-5.

The Rams, who started three sophomores and a pair of juniors, left a mark on the veteran Knights, who start five seniors.

“Our girls said it in the locker room. They can feel it right now – they went through a war,” said Noble coach Kyle Keenan. “It was a very physical game tonight. Coach Berthiaume does a great job with them. He’s got them flying around the floor.”

Gorham jumped ahead 16-12 after the first quarter when it knocked down a trio of 3-pointers, but managed only eight total points over the second and third quarters combined as the Knights led by as many as eight in the third quarter. But the Rams cut the deficit to five at 29-24 entering the fourth. They also drew the third foul on Sorrell just before the final quarter.

With Sorrell on the bench, Gorham rattled off seven straight points to take a 31-29 lead two minutes into the fourth. Sophomore guard Mia Rapolla had five of her team-high 16 points during the run.

A three-point play by Noble gave the Knights a 32-31 lead with 5:51 to play and Sorrell reentered. Gorham retook a 34-32 lead with 4:20 left on a deep 3 by Natalie Egbert following an offensive rebound by Rapolla, but Sorrell scored nine straight points, all coming inside or at the free-throw line, to make it 41-34 in favor of the Knights with 1:12 remaining, effectively sealing the win.

While Gorham’s relentless, trapping zone defense limited Sorrell at times, she found a way in crunch time to get the ball against the smaller Rams’ defenders, nearly all of whom were giving up at least five inches of height and a substantial amount of girth.

“She’s all she’s cracked up to be,” Gorham coach Laughn Berthiaume said of the broad-shouldered Sorrell, who displayed good agility and a nice touch around the basket, as well as a formidable presence on defense, blocking or altering many of the Rams’ shots whenever they tried to take the ball to the rim.

“We tried all we could to not let Sloane catch the ball,” Berthiaume said. “We tried to go at her offensively to make her play some defense, but she’s that good. It makes it tough. We did have a plan, she’s just a very good player.”

Gorham sophomore center Alyssa Clark was more than willing to bang around down low with Sorrell and scored 10 points. Despite the height differential, the Rams were also strong on the offensive glass, especially in the first half.

“They killed us on the boards in the first half,” Keenan said. “I think we gave up eight offensive rebounds in the first half and we pretty much cut that in half in the second half.”

Keenan expects the Rams to give teams fits over the next few weeks as they battle for a playoff spot. They also have a solid foundation for the future.

“They’re good now, but they’re going to be very tough in February and they’re going to be tough for a few years to come,” he said. “The roster is filled with sophomores and freshmen and he’s got them playing a very physical, very scrappy, very hard style of basketball.

“They chase the ball. If the shot goes up – it doesn’t matter if it’s on the offensive end or the defensive end – they chase after it. They’re very athletic. If you’re not putting a body on them and boxing them out, they’re going to beat you to the basketball. They’re obviously been coached to go get the basketball, and that’s what they do.”

Berthiaume said his team’s aggressive, frenetic style is necessary.

“We have no choice,” he said. “If we don’t do that, the game’s over at halftime. We know we’re undersized. If we’re not going to win it, we have to at least compete. They’re battling. They’re competitive people. I just wish I could give them each a couple inches.”

The Rams do a good job of masking their shortcomings with the simple element of hustle.

“We’re very young, but they’re out there playing hard, they’re practicing hard,” Berthiaume said. “They’re not thinking about what class they’re in. We’re certainly not waiting until next year. We want to make some noise this year.”