TOPSHAM

Fouls and free throws are a big part of basketball. Make your foul shots when given a chance and success typically follows.

On Tuesday in Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference girls high school basketball, visiting Medomak Valley used an 18-6 second quarter, with most of those 18 points coming from the charity stripe, en route to a 51-40 victory over Mt. Ararat.

The loss dropped the Eagles to 0-7 after the foul plagued contest, while the Panthers improved to 2-6.

Medomak Valley made 17 of its 22 free throw attempts in the first half, and finished 25-of-34 from the stripe overall, while Mt. Ararat struggled to a 17-of-29 performance.

“Normally we shoot foul shots well, around 60 percent, but tonight we were right around 50 percent,” said Mt. Ararat coach Andy Norris. “Of the 31 points Medomak scored in the first half, 17 of them came from the charity stripe. You can’t do that.”

It was a difficult second quarter that did in the Eagles. Trailing 13-9 after a quarter, the Panthers pulled away, using the big second frame for a 31-15 halftime lead. Two Mt. Ararat players had three fouls, with another four having two fouls apiece as the Eagles were whistled for 16 infractions.

“A continuous problem that we have is that we foul a lot, and we just don’t adjust to the officials sometimes,” said Norris. “We get girls into foul trouble. Then we have to save them for the next quarter and the next quarter. We have to learn to play with fouls, and sometimes we don’t do that.”

“It was frustrating, but we need to play through it,” said guard Nikki Bradstreet. “We always play hard. We came out strong, but honestly things got in our head and we turned the ball over and sent them to the foul line.”

Solid start

Bradstreet was all over the court early for the hosts, picking up two steals and assisting on a bucket each by Kate Guerin and Kyla Greenleaf for a 4-0 lead.

Medomak Valley coach Ryan McNelly quickly called a timeout, and Gabby DePatsy got the Panthers pointed in the right direction with a three-point play coming out of the stoppage.

The teams went back and forth throughout the rest of the frame, with a pair of free throws from Kayla Donlin giving Medomak a 10-8 lead. Hallie Kunesh made a pair at the line and DePatsy drained a freebie for a 13-9 Panthers lead through eight minutes. Totals in the first quarter for the Panthers — two field goals plus 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.

Sadie Cohen heated up for the visitors in the second quarter, scoring eight points as the Panthers used a 14-2 run to build a 30-12 advantage.

“In the first half the calls went their way,” said Norris, who watched starters Guerin and Taylor Wienckowski pick up their third fouls in the second quarter.

Mt. Ararat, which forced 17 Medomak Valley turnovers in the first half, continued to pressure the Panthers, adding 18 more turnovers in the second half. Greenleaf scored six points in the third quarter as the Eagles out-scored the Panthers 11-9 to draw to 40-26. Bradstreet picked up her five points in the fourth quarter, but Medomak held on by making 7-of-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch.

“We closed it in the second, winning the second half (25-20), and we came out with energy. But the second quarter the wheels came off,” said Norris.

“We need to look to score a lot more, but we know that we can and just need to get an offense running and keep the ball in our hands,” said Bradstreet, who finished with five points, eight steals and four assists.

Guerin paced Mt. Ararat with 11 points, with Greenleaf adding eight points and six boards, and Sabrina Paetow chipped in six points. Katelyn Cox came off the bench to pull down five boards and score three points.

Chelsea Ripley had a game-high 15 points for Medomak Valley, with DePatsy finishing with 10 points and seven boards. Cohen scored all eight of her points in the opening half and led the Panthers with 11 rebounds.

Medomak Valley 51, Mt. Ararat 40

At Topsham

	Medomak	—	13	18	9	11	—	51
Mt.	Ararat	—	9	6	11	14	—	40

Medomak — Maddy White 0-6-6, Gabby DePatsy 2-6-10, Hallie Kunesh 0-4-4, Sadie Cohen 3-2-8, Chelsea Ripley 6-3-15, Audrey Schaeffer 0-1- 1, Kayla Donlin 0-2-2, Lydia Simmons 2-0-4, Amber Hagin 0-0-0, Hattie Watmough 0-0-0, Talia Willis 0-0- 0, Mackenzie Burrows 0-0-0, Madison Beal 0-1-1. Totals — 13-25-51. Mt. Ararat — Kyla Greenleaf 3-2-8, Nikki Bradstreet 2-0-5, Taylor Wienckowski 0-0-0, Sabrina Paetow 1-4-6, Kate Guerin 3-5-11, Ashley Parker 0-0-0, Katelyn Cox 0-3-3, Caitlyn Smith 1-0-2, Lauren Labbay 0-2- 2, Theresa Breed 1-1-3, Grace Liedman 0-0-0, Ainsley Bryant 0-0-0. Totals — 11-17-40. 3-point field goals — (MtA) Bradstreet. Records — Medomak Valley 2-6, Mt. Ararat 0-7. Up next for the Eagles — Friday at home vs. Biddeford, 6:30 p.m.