South Portland 58

Portland 47

The Red Riots knew Portland’s first-quarter barrage from beyond the arc couldn’t be sustained. By challenging the Bulldogs a bit more on the perimeter and working the ball inside on offense, they were confident they’d be able to take control.

After making four 3-pointers in the first quarter – three coming in the game’s first four minutes – Portland was held without a 3 in the second and third quarters as South Portland pulled away. The Riots then held off the Bulldogs in the fourth for a 58-47 win in Monday night’s SMAA girls basketball game at the Portland Expo.

South Portland trailed 12-11 after the first quarter, but outscored Portland 17-5 in the second quarter. Kelsi Conley came off the bench to spark the rally, scoring four points in the first minute of the second. After Abby Hasson’s putback and Danielle McCusker’s driving hoop, the Riots led 19-12 three minutes in and Portland needed a timeout. Portland made two free throws, but South Portland embarked on 9-0 run to go up 28-14. It was 28-17 at halftime.

“They hit four 3s right off,” said South Portland coach Mike Giordano. “That was their first-quarter scoring. They’re not going to shoot it that well all night and we play pretty good defense, so the game came back to us in the second quarter. We got into a pretty nice rhythm there offensively and pounded the ball inside to our big kids.”

Hasson and Brianna Hawkins, who both stand at 5’11”, combined for 25 points for South Portland, all coming inside or at the foul line. Hawkins scored 14 and Hasson added 11. McCusker had a team-high 16 points, hitting from outside and driving strongly to the basket. Conley and Esther Palmieri added eight points apiece to round out a balanced South Portland scoring attack.

“I don’t think we realized (what) great 3-point shooters they can be,” Hawkins said. “We knew they can shoot it – we just didn’t expect them to come out and shoot it that well. We started contesting more shots, we played tougher defense and they started missing some. We played great as a team. We were sharing the ball. We were recognizing the defenses they were in and the pressure they had.”

Hawkins scored eight in the third quarter as the Riots’ lead ballooned to 20 at 45-25 entering the fourth. Portland’s Nyachuol Biliew scored the first seven points of the fourth and Portland got as close as 11 before South Portland – which had some trouble with the Bulldogs’ press – made nine of 11 free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

“It’s nice to have a lead of 20 going in so you have a little room for error there, but we recovered at the end,” Giordano said.

Biliew made three 3s in the fourth quarter when she scored 17 of her game-high 23 points. She had five 3s in the game. She was also active on the boards and in transition.

“She’s a really good player,” Hawkins said. “She can shoot the 3, she can take it in. You just really have to contest as many shots as you can – and she’s quick, so you have to give her a couple steps.”

The Riots are No. 8 in the Heal Point Standings released this week, which did not include the victory over No. 11 Portland. Eleven teams qualify for next month’s Class A West tournament. The top five teams avoid a preliminary game, while Nos. 6-8 host a prelim game.

“We thought we needed one more win to secure a playoff berth,” Giordano said. “This should pretty much get us in. Now we’re just jockeying for position.”

While finishing in the top five is looking like a reach, Giordano would be pleased with a home game to start the postseason. “A home prelim would be fine,” he said.

The Riots have struggled scoring throughout much of the season, but the offensive output against Portland was hefty and balanced – a good sign as the tournament approaches.

“That’s so important going into the playoffs,” Hawkins said. “You can’t just have one person score because if that person gets shut down, the whole offense gets shut down. It’s really important that all our girls are getting confident with the ball offensively and really starting to score.”

“It makes it tough to scout a team when they’re getting that kind of balance. If we can continue doing that, we’ll be successful,” Giordano said.

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