THE MORSE HIGH SCHOOL girls basketball team played host to Oak Hill and former coach Tom Morong on Thursday at Bath Middle School. In the top photo, Shipbuilder forward Lauren Crosby (23) heads to the basket between Raider defenders Sadie Goulet (12) and Darby Beaulieu (10), while in the bottom photo, Morse guard Katie Henrikson drives around Julie Morneault (14). Crosby and Henrikson each scored 13 points as Morse rolled to a 62-29 victory.
BOB CONN / THE TIMES RECORD
For the first time, Morong entered the Bath Middle School gym from the visitor’s side of the building, a strange feeling for the now head coach at Oak Hill as his Raiders took on the home-standing Shipbuilders on Thursday in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B contest.
The first announcement on this night was to recognize Morong, and the Shipbuilder fans gave him the respectful loud cheer for his years of hard work.
That was the last good thing for Morong and his Raiders, as Morse blew out Oak Hill 62-29, giving the Shipbuilders a 6-7 mark and their third consecutive win.
Morse used its full-court, man-toman defense to force 39 turnovers and held the Raiders to just 10 second half points while scoring 37.
“It took a little bit, but we’re so quick with three of the quickest guards in (Kerry) Cummings, (Tori) Field and (Katie) Henrikson, and that is tough to beat when you can put any one of them on any of their guards,” said Morse High School coach Mike Hart, whose team visits Oceanside on Saturday at 1 p.m.
After a tough shooting first half where Morse shot just 23 percent (eight of 34) but still led 25-19 thanks to an eight of 13 performance at the foul line, the Shipbuilders forced 11 third-quarter turnovers and extended their lead to 42-24.
Henrikson and Field both hit a 3- pointer to push the Morse advantage to 36-21, forcing Oak Hill to come away from the basket. This opened up the inside to Lauren and Sadia Crosby, who combined on 16 points, 12 rebounds and five steals.
“I thought the first half we did not shoot well even though we had a lot of easy lay-up opportunities, so it was nice to see Sadia and Lauren hit some baskets and that opened up some perimeter opportunities for Katie and Tori,” said Hart. “We’re starting to learn how to win now, which is nice to see.”
“We pulled through after a tough first half, and the second half we came out strong and shut them down,” said Sadia Crosby. “ We played our game in the second half and showed them this is our court. Once we got those couple key 3s, we knew it was O.K.”
“I thought it broke them a little, and it made Sadia and Lauren better able to work inside,” said Henrikson, whose 13 points matched Lauren Crosby for game-high honors. “ We are better at man- to- man defense, and it confuses teams. Our defense is working now. We’ve been working really hard in practice to get better and it’s working out.”
Sloppy first
Neither team found much on the offensive end in a helter-skelter first quarter. Morse forced two five-second violations, but made just two of 19 shots. Oak Hill struggled from the foul line, missing all six chances as the Shipbuilders led 8-6.
The teams traded the lead seven times in the second frame, with Oak Hill taking a 17-15 lead on a lay-in by Sadie Goulet, who led the Raiders with eight points. Morse closed the first half on an 10-2 run, capped off by a 3-pointer by Henrikson.
The Shipbuilders used a 9-0 spurt early in the third quarter to assume control, with Lauren Crosby scoring six points in the paint to lead the way.
A 12-0 run to begin the fourth put the Raiders away, with Henrikson canning her third trey. Field chipped in with 12 points and led the defense with seven steals. Cummings added seven points, four steals and five rebounds, with Brianna Bigelow throwing in six points off the bench.
The Shipbuilders shot 32 percent (22 of 67) and were 12 of 18 at the line.
For Oak Hill, Darby Beaulieu had six points and Hayley Marshall four. The Raiders were just two of 15 at the charity stripe and shot 33 percent (13 of 39) from the floor.
“It is awkward, and I was trying to tell the girls about the game and they could see through me,” said Morong of his return to Bath. “I have used examples of what it was like here, the crowd and the closeness.
“I was definitely a little bit anxious and nervous, but it was nice to come back here and see some of the parents coming up and saying hello. I even saw some that I coached and now they have a kid playing here, which is so hard to believe.”
“ We definitely didn’t want the night to pass without recognition of Tom, 22 years and he was coaching when I was in high school, so we wanted to recognize this Morse High School guy,” said Hart. “Everybody gave him the respect he deserves.”
Morse 62, Oak Hill 29
At Bath Middle School
OakHill—613 5 5—29
Morse — 8 17 17 20 — 62
Oak Hill — Darby Beaulieu 3-0-6, Sadie Goulet 4-
0-8, Alexis Priest 1-1-3, Hayley Marshall 2-0-4,
Chassidy Hilchey 1-0-2, Jane Marston 1-0-3, Marrissa Caskin 0-0-0, Julie Morneault 1-1-3, Meagan
Crosby 0-0-0, Vannessa Wright 0-0-0, Kelsey
Collins 0-0-0, Danielle Samson 0-0-0, Iris Abbott
0-0-0. Totals — 13-2-29.
Morse — Sadia Crosby 1-1-3, Leia Graves 0-0-0,
Kerry Cummings 3-1-7, Tori Field 4-3-12, Katie
Henrikson 4-2-13, Lauren Crosby 5-3-13, Brianna
Bigelow 2-2-6, Sophie Sreden 0-0-0, Megan Hixon
2-0-5, Crystal Leavitt 1-0-3. Totals — 22-12-62.
3-pointers — (OH) Marston; (Mo) Field, Henrikson
3, Hixon, Leavitt.
Records — Morse 6-7, Oak Hill 4-10.
Next for the Shipbuilders — Saturday, 1 p.m. at
Oceanside.
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