Biddeford’s Taylor Wildes (left) and Thornton Academy’s Lucy Macomber (right) fight for a rebound in the fourth quarter on Monday night in Biddeford.

Biddeford’s Taylor Wildes (left) and Thornton Academy’s Lucy Macomber (right) fight for a rebound in the fourth quarter on Monday night in Biddeford.

BIDDEFORD— The Thornton Academy girls basketball team cruised past Biddeford 58-27 in Biddeford Monday night.

TA dominated all 32 minutes on both ends and never gave Biddeford an opportunity to strike.

The star of the game was TA’s Ashley Howe, who led the game with 24 points, 14 of which coming in the first quarter. TA’s Barrett Campbell also added 10 points for the Trojans.

Biddeford was led by Brittany Roy who scored 15 points.

The Trojans fired early, beginning the game with a 3-pointer by Alexandra Hart.

Howe then went on to score 12 straight points, putting TA up 20-4 late in the first.

Not only did Howe deliver offensively, but she also managed to collect two steals and a block in the first.

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TA coach Eric Marston was impressed with Howe’s performance.

“Ashley has shown for the last four years how good of a player she is. She has always played with a lot of consistency,” said Marston. “She plays well offensively and defensively, she rebounds, she can shoot free throws. She does it all and you saw that tonight, particularly in the first half.”

The rest of the TA offense chipped in during the second quarter. Although the Trojans only scored 12 points all together, they managed to get scores from four different players.

The lopsided time of posession helped TA keep Biddeford to only four points in the second quarter and 10 in the first half.

Howe came out sharp in the second half, scoring the Trojans’ first eight points, six of which came from 3- pointers.

Biddeford’s Roy also had a solid quarter, scoring five points and keeping the Trojans defense on it’s toes throughout the final half of the third.

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The Tigers were more aggressive in the paint and limited the amount of space for the Trojans to work with, but the lead that TA built in the first half began taking it’s toll on the Tigers that became frustrated heading into the final quarter.

Both teams were competitive in the fourth, with TA outscoring Biddeford by just one point, however the Trojans walked away with a decisive 58-27 victory thanks to the early lead they compiled.

Marston was satisfied with his team’s play, but admitted that they were fortunate to be facing an injuryriddled Biddeford team.

“They (Biddeford) played really hard tonight. They were a bit shorthanded, they have a few really good ball players injured so it didn’t help their cause. However I was really pleased with the way our players performed tonight. I think they reponded well, especially in a rivalry game,” said Marston.

Despite Howe’s dominance during the match, Marston felt that his team got help from all of it’s players.

“I thought we played very unselfishly tonight. We had a lot of assisted shots, we transitioned well and ran the floor. We also hit a lot of open shots so it was nice to see that,” said Marston.

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A major factor in TA’s dominance was their conditioning. The Trojans played at a fast pace throughout the evening, seeming to tire out the Tigers in the late minutes.

“We practice at a high level, generally at a tougher pace than we play at in games,” said Marston. “These girls are very well conditioned, a lot of them play sports throughout the year so they are all in great shape.”

The Trojans are preparing for a slew of tough matchups ahead. Marston is happy with his team’s steady improvement and believes it will be key moving forward.

“We have made some strides but there are a few things we need to tighten up. We have a tough stretch coming up here but I think our team chemistry is really improving. We will need that moving forward,” said Marston.

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at sports@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @ JournalTsports.


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