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CUMBERLAND — Megan Coale knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and Chelsea Bridges added two baskets as Greely opened a 17-3 lead on the way to a 50-27 victory against Cape Elizabeth in a Western Maine Conference schoolgirl basketball game Tuesday night.

After Bridges opened the scoring, Caton Beaulieu fed an open Coale for her first 3-pointer. A Marlo Dell’Aquila basket and foul shot put the Capers (4-2) on the board and made it a 5-3 game, but the Rangers (6-1) ran off the next 12 points.

Coale followed a Sara Warnock block with another 3, and Beaulieu found Warnock in the left corner for a jumper and a 10-3 score.

After a pair of Cape turnovers, Bridges connected from the post. Greely went to a full-court press and Cape Coach Chris Roberts called a timeout, but Beaulieu and Jaclyn Storey came up with a pair of steals as the first quarter ended with Greely up 12-3.

Caroline Hamilton (10 points, a team-high six rebounds) opened the second with a 3-pointer, and Coale made a terrific pass to Warnock underneath for the 17-3 lead before Emily Donovan (a team-high 10 points) banked in a 3-point pull-up to break the run.

But Cape missed its next seven shots, and Taylor Readio hit Elie Wieckert for a fast-break bucket, Hamilton hit a 3, and Wieckert converted an offensive rebound to make it 24-6.

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The half ended with Greely up 31-14. The Rangers hit 12 of their 22 shots in the half; Cape was 5 of 24.

“We practice our shooting every day,” said Coale, who finished with a game-high 11 points, “so that’s not all that surprising. But it’s always important to get off to a good start.”

“That’s been a struggle for us all season, putting the ball in the basket,” said Roberts. “But a lot of that was Greely. We let them dictate the tempo and the way we played, and we ended up taking the shots they wanted us to take.”

A Donovan 3-pointer got Cape off to a good start in the third quarter, but Coale hit a left-hander in the lane, and Hamilton made a couple of terrific passes to Bridges and Warnock in the paint before Coale’s third 3 made it 40-21.

“That started last week,” Greely Coach Bill Goodman said of his team’s passing. “We played a good team from New Hampshire, and they pressed us and really made us work to get good shots.

“We’ve had a lot of good halves this year, but we’ve been working on playing well for the full 32 minutes. We have a lot of young kids, kids who are new to the varsity, but our senior leaders have helped show them what’s needed.”

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“We just try to teach them to make smart decisions, make good passes,” said Coale.

Warnock finished with nine points and Bridges added eight. Kisa Tabeny grabbed a game-high seven rebounds for Cape and scored five points.

“The girls’ effort is always there,” Roberts said, “but we have to start to focus on the execution.”

 

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