FALMOUTH — If it takes more energy to defend than it does to attack, about 16 basketball players from Greely and Falmouth likely turned in early Saturday night. And chances are the Rangers slept just a little better.

Greely held Falmouth to five field goals Saturday afternoon and came away with a 37-13 victory in a closer-than-it-looks Western Maine Conference girls’ basketball game.

Ashley Storey led the Rangers (8-2) with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Moira Train had seven points and five rebounds. Molly Chapin and Haley Felkel each scored five points, and Maddie Cyr came off the bench to pull down six rebounds and block a shot.

For the Yachtsmen (6-3), Ally Hickey scored six points on a pair of 3-pointers and pulled down 10 rebounds. Dayna Vasconcelos, Maddy Adams and Adelaide Cooke each had two points.

Greely had a slim edge in rebounds, 31-28, and committed 10 turnovers to Falmouth’s 11. But Greely led 26-10 at the half and outscored Falmouth 11-3 in the second half. The short explanation is shots fell for Greely but not for Falmouth. The Rangers’ defense had something to do with that.

“Defensively, we were terrific,” Greely Coach Joel Rogers said. “Once we went to a 2-3 zone we could cover the corners, and that allows (Storey) to stay in the paint and rebound for us. The kids really worked hard.”

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Storey’s presence made Falmouth Coach Mari Warner opt for a half-court game, rather than its traditional high pressure, full-court game.

“We knew we weren’t going to get to the rim,” said Warner. “We knew we had to take pull-ups. We weren’t running our offense early, which doesn’t help, but Greely played a fantastic game. Their defense makes you have to see over people and they get big. They did their job.”

With Train and Haley Felkel applying pressure up high, Storey, Sarah Felkel and Molly Chapin were able to use their height advantage down low. Rogers said the Rangers got a big boost from Cyr, who came off the bench to limit Falmouth’s second-chance shots.

“My game is basically to rebound in the air,” Cyr said. “Their shots were banging up off the rim, so I was able to get to them.”

Added Rogers: “Our defense is not built to get steals, unless it’s on ball reversal. We contest, we contain and we box out. To hold them to 13 points is terrific.”

And Greely had motivation. In a 48-43 loss to York on Thursday, the Rangers had the lead five times in the fourth quarter, and five times they turned over the ball.

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“We came out really motivated to win,” Storey said. “We just need to come out and play as hard as we could, and that’s what we did.”

The Rangers started the game with a 10-0 run before Cooke hit a 15-foot jumper with 4:20 to put Falmouth on the board. Molly Chapin countered with two free throws before Hickey hit her first 3 to cut Greely’s lead to 12-5. Storey drove through the lane for a layup and Train finished a steal and fast break to put the Rangers up 16-5 after one quarter.

For the second time this season, Falmouth can use a loss to Greely as motivation. After a 54-28 loss to the Rangers on Dec. 20, the Yachtsmen made adjustments and won three straight.

“We played four games in eight days and I’m extremely proud of my team to go 3-1,” said Warner. “As much as we’re fighting it, there’s a fatigue factor. We’ll put this one behind us, learn from it and move forward.”


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