GORHAM — Anna DeWolfe and Mackenzie Holmes are good friends off the court, but when the Miss Maine Basketball favorites squared off Saturday afternoon, friendship took a back seat to winning.

And for one day at least, DeWolfe and her Greely teammates got the upper hand.

Gorham shot out to an early lead as DeWolfe got in foul trouble, but the defending Class AA South champions couldn’t put the reigning Class A state champs away. Greely, thanks to an aggressive pressure defense that forced 33 turnovers, eventually took the lead for good on a Camille Clement 3-pointer and went on to a 57-51 victory.

Greely was paced by 18 points from DeWolfe. The Rangers also got 15 points from Clement and a huge defensive effort from Katie Fitzpatrick as they improved to 8-0.

“I was really fired up for this,” said DeWolfe, who also had seven rebounds, seven steals and six assists. “I’m really good friends (with Mackenzie) off the court. We play so well together and have fun together. Competing was good.”

DeWolfe made a 3-pointer to give Greely a 3-2 lead, but she picked up her second foul with 6:17 to go in the first quarter. Gorham (5-2) took advantage, as seven points from Holmes, a 3-pointer from Brittany Desjardin and two 3-pointers from Adele Nadeau made it 16-11 after eight minutes.

Gorham failed to build on its lead in the second quarter, thanks in large part to 11 turnovers, but Greely couldn’t capitalize and the Rams still led 22-17 at halftime.

Gorham committed 10 more turnovers in the third quarter and Greely outscored the Rams, 26-13.

“After (Anna) got her second foul, we just needed to mentally calm down and we did that,” said Fitzpatrick. “We turned up the defense, got fast breaks and pushed the ball.”

DeWolfe had 10 points during the third quarter, scoring in transition, on drives to the basket and from behind the 3-point stripe. A driving layup from Mollie Obar and two Clement free throws put the Rangers up 43-35 heading into the final quarter.

“I think (our turnovers were) a combination of (Greely) being quick and putting the pressure on, and us breaking down on what we were supposed to do,” said Gorham Coach Laughn Berthiaume.

Early in the fourth quarter, Gorham erased a 10-point deficit and tied the score at 46-46 on a Holmes leaner with 5:09 to play.

Clement countered with a 3, however, and Greely never looked back. Fitzpatrick, who did her best to hold Holmes in check on the defensive end, made three key free throws down the stretch, and Madison Scott drained a clutch jumper to help the Rangers close it out.

“This will really help us out come tournament time,” said Greely Coach Todd Flaherty. “I’m really impressed with the girls. They showed a lot of character today.”

Gorham got 27 points and 17 rebounds from Holmes, and 12 points from Nadeau.

“I’d rather have games like this every single game,” said Berthiaume. “It’s good for the girls to have to mix it up and be in different situations.”

Copy the Story Link