FALMOUTH — Cape Elizabeth Coach Chris Roberts let out a sigh and said: “As frustrating as it was at times, a win is a win is a win. And I’ll take it.”
She should. The Capers played a stellar defensive first half, then relied on the steady leadership of senior Emily Donovan and junior Kayla Raftice in the second half to beat short-handed Falmouth 31-25 in a Western Maine Conference girls’ basketball game Tuesday night.
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Cape Elizabeth held Falmouth scoreless in the second quarter, then quelled a rally in the final minutes after building an 11-point lead.
“It’s all part of the learning process,” said Roberts, who has four freshmen and four sophomores on her roster. “We’re eight games into the season and nothing has been easy. We’ve had some close games, but someone always steps up in the end.”
The victory lifted the Capers to 6-2 while Falmouth dropped to 5-3.
The Yachtsmen were without junior guard Jackie Doyle and senior guard Jessica DiPhilippo, two of their top offensive players, who were out with the flu. That allowed the Capers to collapse on Falmouth’s inside players, and the outside shooters couldn’t respond, especially in the first half when Falmouth went 2 for 21 from the floor.
But the Yachtsmen played much better in the second half and, said Coach Mari Warner: “I’m very proud of the players who had to change their roles.
“I think going in, this was a different team mentally than in the past because their cushion was not there. They were nervous and tentative.”
Cape took advantage to gain control in the first half, then built its lead with some impressive 3-point shooting in the second half. The Capers hit five 3s in the second half, two by Donovan (11 points), two by Raftice (10 points) and the other by Marlo Dell’Aquila.
“On the sidelines, we were saying, ‘No, no,’” said Roberts, of the 3s. “They weren’t coming in the flow of our offense. But I have learned that every time you say, ‘no,’ it goes in. Those 3s ended up being huge.”
Donovan’s final 3-pointer with 5:32 left gave the Capers a 31-20 lead and they didn’t score again, missing five foul shots.
Falmouth got within six on a power move by Jenna Serunian (11 points) with 2:31 left, but Falmouth turned the ball over on four consecutive trips and Donovan blocked a shot as Cape held on.
“It wasn’t pretty but we’ll take it,” said Donovan. “Our game plan is to work hard. And we’ve done that to get where we are right now.”
Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at: mlowe@pressherald.com
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