RICHMOND

It was not pretty.

Saturday morning’s 9 a.m. starter in this East-West Conference battle between Vinalhaven and host Richmond was anything but classic high school basketball. The Bobcats had trouble making shots, and the Vikings faced difficulty attempting shots.

In the end, it was the Richmond girls that came away with a 41-39 double overtime win, giving the Bobcats a 10- 0 mark heading into Wednesday’s road contest against Old Orchard Beach.

“I want to give Vinalhaven all the credit in the world. They played two great games against us and really battled,” said Richmond coach Mike Ladner after his Bobcats swept the two-game series, winning Friday, 36-31.

Mackenzie Abbott was the late-game hero on Saturday. She swished a 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining in the second overtime for a 40-37 lead, then picked up two steals to help Richmond hold on.

“It wasn’t as difficult as it should have been as we made it harder than it should have been,” said Abbott, who finished with nine points and a game-high 10 steals.

Sydney Underhill-Tilton had a game-high 17 points in the win despite playing with foul trouble throughout. She pulled down 14 rebounds, blocked three shots and picked up four steals.

Richmond was able to recover from a tough first half. The Bobcats hit just 5- of-34 shots (14 percent) and trailed the Vikings, 17-13 as Paige Dennison scored seven points for the visitors.

“Playing early in the morning, we are not used to that like they are. That made it harder for us, having to get up earlier,” said Abbott.

Richmond bounced back in the third quarter, opening the half on a 10-0 run behind a pair of 3-pointers from Caitlin Kendrick and a Bobcat defense that forced 13 Vinalhaven turnovers.

“We picked up our intensity, communicated better and just took the ball down the middle, getting back to the basics,” said Ladner.

“Defense is what we feed off of and what wins games for us,” said Abbott, who had five steals in the quarter along with guard Meranda Martin. “On offense, we wanted to drive more, kick out more.”

Vinalhaven managed just two attempted shots in the quarter, only scoring a pair of free throws by Gilleyanne Davis-Oakes with 23 seconds left, but stayed in the game thanks to an 0-for-6 performance from the free-throw line by Richmond.

The Vikings were far from done. Trailing 26-22 with 3:47 remaining, Davis-Oakes and Deja Doughty scored to tie the game at 26.

Martin scored her only points of the game from the free-throw line with 17.7-seconds left in regulation for a 28-26 Richmond edge, but Dennison found a sliver of room and hit a buzzer-beating jumper to send the game to overtime.

Vinalhaven claimed its first lead since early in the third quarter on a Dennison bucket, but freshman Bryanne Lancaster tied the game on Richmond’s next possession, and Tilton put home her own miss to put Richmond ahead.

Again the Vikings struck back, with Davis-Oakes canning a trey for a 33-32 edge.

Back came Richmond, with Lancaster banking in a long 3-pointer to put the Bobcats ahead.

“The freshman hitting that big 3-pointer, that was big,” said Ladner of Lancaster’s shot. “She said to me, ‘I really don’t know what I am doing out here.’ She didn’t even realize that she hit it.”

One more time Vinalhaven tied the game, with Davis-Oakes draining a pair of free throws to send the game to a second overtime tied at 35.

But, Abbott took a pass from Kendrick and hit a trey for a 40-37 lead, and Cassidy Harriman made 1-of-2 at the line for a 41-39 lead. Vinalhaven tried to get off one last shot, but the Richmond defense forced its 32nd turnover to close out the win.

Dennison led Vinalhaven (5-6) with 11 points, with Davis-Oakes finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots and four steals. Doughty chipped in six points, four assists and five rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Richmond finished 15-of- 66 from the field (22 percent) and just 6-of-17 from the freethrow line. But a 29-22 edge in rebounding helped, and the Bobcats held the Vikings to just 31 attempted shots.

Friday

Behind a game-high 11 points and 15 rebounds from Underhill-Tilton, the Bobcats held on for a win over Vinalhaven.

Richmond led 7-5, 19-17 and 29-21 at the quarter breaks.

Abbott notched 10 points for the Bobcats and Kendrick tallied eight on two treys. Lancaster pulled in six rebounds and Martin dished out four assists.

Doughty paced Vinalhaven (7-3) with 11 points, while Ashlyn Littlefield scored 10 and Amber Shane six.

Richmond 41,
Vinalhaven 39, 2 OTs

Saturday, at Richmond
Vinalhaven— 10 7 2 9 7 4 — 39
Richmond— 6 7 10 5 7 6 — 41
Vinalhaven — Paige Dennison 4-2-
11, Deja Doughty 2-1-6, Ashlyn Littlefield 1-1-3, Amber Shane 1-0-2,
Gilleyanne Davis-Oakes 2-5-10, Hannah Nelson 3-1-7, Justice Grant 0-0-
0. Totals — 13-10-39.
Richmond — Caitlin Kendrick 2-1-7,
Sydney Underhill-Tilton 7-2-17,
Mackenzie Abbott 4-0-9, Cassidy Harriman 0-1-1, Meranda Martin 0-2-2,
Rylie Irish 0-0-0, Ashley Abbott 0-0-
0, Bryanne Lancaster 2-0-5. Totals —
15-6-41.
3-point field goals — (V) Dennison,
Doughty, Davis-Oakes; (R) Kendrick
2, M. Abbott, Underhill-Tilton, Lancaster. Records — Richmond 10-0; Vinalhaven 5-6.
Up next for the Bobcats — Wednesday at Old Orchard Beach, 7 p.m.