PORTLAND — The No. 5 Sanford girls basketball team fell to the No. 4 Maine Girls’ Academy 40-33 in a hard-fought Class AA South quarterfinals matchup on Thursday at the Portland Expo.
After falling behind by 11 points in the fourth quarter, the Spartans would fight back and pull within three points, however the Lions closed out the game strong in the final three minutes to secure the win.
The Lions were successful defensively, using a tight press defense on the perimeter to challenge Sanford throughout the contest. Sanford played solid defense in its own right, but MGA came up with the timely runs to push past the Spartans.
“We talked about how we had to do a good job against their guards … they do a good job of hitting open three’s and scoring off the dribble. They did a nice job — we knew we had to take care of that and unfortunately our offense didn’t execute either,” said Sanford coach Kristy Parent. “We told the girls that it doesn’t matter what someone did in this game or that game … it’s right now, right here and you have to produce at this level.”
MGA went on a 6-0 run to begin the game and got a deep three in the final minute of the first from Catherine Reid to take the 11-4 lead. Sanford would then go on an 8-2 run to begin the second thanks to six points from Megan O’Connell, however MGA got another well-timed three from Serena Mower late in the quarter to give the Lions the 18-14 lead and momentum heading into the halftime break.
The Lions continued to extend their lead, taking the 27-18 advantage into the final period. Although Sanford went on a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 31-28, MGA would hit six free throws in the final minutes to pull away with the victory.
O’Connell led the Spartans with 10 points cored, while Summer Camire would add nine, all coming in the second half. Reid led the Lions with 10 points, while Mower chipped in nine.
Sanford failed to reach the postseason in 2015, and were hoping to make a deep run in 2016.
“Our seniors haven’t been here — we’ve been dry for a few years so to get here is a nice step … but what’s unfortunate is that they weren’t satisfied with just getting to the playoffs,” said Parent.
Although the Spartans left Thursday’s game empty handed, Parent was pleased with the progress the team made throughout the winter.
“The development has been great and they responded. It took a little while in the first half of the season but we were finally clicking towards the end,” said Parent.” “We came here confident and we felt this was a good matchup, they played well.”
More than anything, Parent was proud of her team’s effort in the loss.
“Our team never gives up — they work hard and they get at it. It doesn’t matter if they’re down 11, 15, 20, they’re going to play.”
Sanford finishes the season with a 9-10 overall record. MGA improves to 8-11 overall and will take on the defending champion Gorham in the Class AA South semis at the Cross Insurance Arena.
— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.