CUMBERLAND – Mykaela Twitchell is learning in swift fashion that scoring big points will quickly help endear her to her new teammates.
Twitchell, a Greely sophomore, came off the bench and scored her team’s final four points as the Rangers posted a come-from-behind 43-41 victory over York in a Western Maine Conference girls’ basketball game Tuesday night.
Additional Photos
“Our team is very determined and teamwork is big,” said Twitchell, who is doing double duty as a starter on Greely’s JV squad. “To be able to be part of that is incredible. It’s a lot of fun, especially when we win.
“To me, it’s an honor to get the time to play and to prove to them that I can help them out.”
Twitchell’s basket with 3:47 remaining in regulation delivered Greely (1-1) its first lead. She struck again two minutes later with what turned out to be the final two points to stake the Rangers to 43-41 advantage with 1:40 left.
Her late game impact could have been even more pronounced, if not from some youthful jitters from the foul line. She missed two shots with 36.9 seconds left that could have created breathing room and a two-possession game.
“Mykaela works very hard and I’ve been real proud of all the work that she’s put in,” said Greely Coach Kim Hilbrich.
“When she comes into the game she makes good things happen on the offensive boards and she does what I ask her to do. That’s exciting.”
The Wildcats (1-1) had a chance to send the game into overtime. A full-court press in the waning moments forced Greely into a 10-second violation and gave York the ball with 8.9 second left. However, Emily Campbell’s shot at the buzzer rimmed out.
The fact the game came down to a final shot was a credit to Greely after York jumped to a 13-2 lead and held a 15-6 advantage after one quarter. The Wildcats struck for two more points to open the second period for a game-high 11-point lead.
Twitchell, who finished with eight points, answered the early York score with her first field goal of the game, a basket that ignited a second-quarter Greely rally.
The Rangers went on a 12-2 run that got them right back into the game, trailing 19-18 with just over two minutes left in the half.
“It was just a matter of getting them to settle down and doing the things we have been working on in practice,” Hilbrich said when asked about the dramatic turnaround.
“It’s just one of those things where the kids know what we work on. They know what they need to do and they went out and they executed it tonight.”
The Rangers, who trailed 24-20 at the half, continued to push throughout the second half in a pesky, and ultimately successful, attempt to overtake last year’s Western Class B finalists. An 11-4 fourth-quarter run finally gave Greely the lead and victory.
“That’s the kind of games that you want to play in,” said York Coach Rick Clark. “I think the kids, down the road, will appreciate what they learned here tonight.”
Andrea Mountford led all scorers with 12 points for York. Jaclyn Storey paced Greely with 11 points.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.