SOUTH PORTLAND – The girls on the South Portland basketball team consider themselves more than just teammates.

“We’re like best friends,” said sophomore guard Danica Gleason.

And, added senior center Abby Hasson, “You don’t blame best friends when things are going wrong.”

No, you stick together.

And that’s exactly what the Red Riots did Wednesday night, pulling together in the final minutes to overcome their own mistakes and beat Portland 63-54 at Beal Gymnasium.

The Riots (7-4) lost a 14-point halftime lead, succumbing to Portland’s defensive pressure and 3-point shooting, and found themselves trailing by four with just over five minutes remaining.

After regaining the lead at 52-51 on a 3-pointer by Stephanie McDonough — her only basket of the game — the Riots fell behind again when Nicolette Kapothanasis of Portland hit her third 3-pointer of the second half, making it 54-52 with 2:23 left.

Portland didn’t score again, missing five shots and turning the ball over twice.

“We’re just that team this year,” said Hasson, who scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. “We don’t quit on each other and we stick with each other. As far as teams go, we have really good chemistry, and we take it on as a team and dig in.”

And they had to against the Bulldogs, who may be only 3-7 but have played much better lately.

“I knew they would be dangerous,” said South Portland Coach Mike Giordano. “They’re fighting for their tournament lives. That was a nice win for us.”

And another hard lesson for the Bulldogs.

“We’re so close,” said Bulldogs Coach Jan Veinot. “They just have to believe it. They were so hesitant in the first half and we had so many unforced turnovers. They just have to have faith.”

Portland committed 16 turnovers in the first half but only five in the second. And the Bulldogs started hitting their outside shot. Kapothanasis (21 points) and Rebecca Smith (14) combined for six 3-pointers in the final two quarters.

Portland’s defense also forced nine turnovers in the third quarter, when the Bulldogs scored 21 points to pull within two entering the fourth.

“We knew it was coming,” said Hasson. “Portland never rolls. It’s a good game every time.”

But the Riots had the 6-foot Hasson, who the Bulldogs couldn’t contain. She scored 10 points in the final quarter, six in the last two minutes.

Hasson tied the game at 54 off a lob pass from McDonough with 1:59 left. After a Portland miss, Danielle DiBiase hit both ends of a 1-and-1 — hitting both after she missed a shot but the Bulldogs were penalized for one of their three lane violations — and the Riots led for good.

They hit 4 of 7 foul shots in the final 1:28 and Hasson — who was 12 for 14 at the foul line (and also hit a 3-pointer) — finished it with an offensive rebound basket.

“That’s one thing this team has done all year,” said Giordano. “When things aren’t going right, they stick together. And they did that tonight.

“Things could have gone south for us but they didn’t. The kids hung in there and made things happen.”

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com

 

Copy the Story Link