CUMBERLAND — Greely took charge down the stretch and held on for a 66-62 win over Gorham in a clash between two of the state’s best girls’ basketball teams Saturday afternoon.

Greely, one of the favorites in Class A South, took the lead for good when Anna DeWolfe scored baskets on back-to-back possessions to make it 59-55 with 1:30 left. The Rangers sank seven of eight free throws in the final 38 seconds to close it out against the two-time defending Class AA state champions.

“Everyone stepped up,” said DeWolfe, a junior guard who led all scorers with 26 points. “In big games, everyone needs to step up. It was great.”

Brooke Obar, a sophomore guard, scored 15 of her 18 points during the second half to help Greely overcome a 31-25 deficit. Camille Clement, a freshman guard, had 13 points.

“They have three kids who can shoot the ball really well, so it was a challenge for us to guard that 3-point line,” Gorham Coach Laughn Berthiaume said.

Michelle Rowe, the lone senior in Gorham’s lineup, scored 22 points. MacKenzie Holmes finished with 21 points.

It was the second loss in a row for the Rams, who had a 47-game winning streak stopped Tuesday night with a 43-41 loss to Portland.

“It was never really about the winning streak,” Berthiaume said. “You try to go out and win each game, of course, but now we’re turning our focus on ‘Can we be good enough to have a four-game winning streak in February (during the state tournament)?”

Greely’s Anna DeWolfe looks toward the basket after driving into the lane Saturday against Gorham. DeWolfe scored 26 points, leading the Rangers to a 66-62 win.

The Rams got off to a fast start. With Holmes controlling the defensive boards, they opened the game with a 12-2 run and took a 15-6 lead into the second quarter.

Holmes spent much of the second quarter sitting on the bench in foul trouble, and Greely (6-2) quickly caught up, pulling to within two with 3:10 left in the half.

“Foul trouble hurts,” Berthiaume said. “Obviously, MacKenzie is our main player, and when she goes out, that changes things for us.”

Rowe picked up the slack. She scored seven points during a 10-3 run that gave the Rams (5-2) a 31-22 lead.

“We made some hay when (Holmes) was out, but then they got some (points) back, which is was kind of worrisome,” Greely Coach Todd Flaherty said. “We were hoping to get the lead with her out, but the foul trouble definitely helped us today.”

When Holmes sat back down after picking up her third foul with 3:10 left in the third quarter, the Rangers rallied again. They took a 46-45 lead when Obar banked in a shot from the right with five seconds left in the quarter.

With both teams playing at full strength in the fourth quarter, momentum seesawed back and forth. There were three lead changes until the Rangers ran off six points to move into a 61-57 lead with 38.8 seconds left.

“We tried to play a little bit different,” Flaherty said. “We don’t normally play zone and we tried that, and we didn’t like that very much at the beginning. We did a decent job on Holmes, but they were getting a lot of other things. We switched to man, which is what we do, and we started pressing, which we don’t do, and that made the difference for us.”

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