WELLS — Knowing his team was going to face a zone defense, Wells High Coach Don Abbott told guard Franny Ramsdell to be ready to shoot.
Boy, was she ever.
Ramsdell scored 23 of her 28 points in the first half to stake Wells to a big lead and the Warriors held off a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Old Orchard Beach 55-45 in an inter-class girls’ basketball game Thursday night.
Wells led by as much as 15 points before the Seagulls cut the gap to six in the fourth. But Logan Bedell hit two clutch foul shots with 3:58 remaining and Grace Ramsdell swished a 3-pointer with just over a minute left to secure the win.
Wells’ Mackenzie Foss drives to the basket during a home game against Old Orchard Beach.
“Ultimately it was kids making plays when they had to,” said Abbott. “It was a good team win. And we just want to keep getting better.”
Wells is 7-3 in Class B South.Old Orchard Beach is 7-3 in Class C South.
“These games are great for us in a lot of ways,” said Seagulls Coach Dean Plante. “Our kids will play anyone anywhere. Usually it’s a question of depth for us. And there are no nights off.”
Old Orchard led 5-4 early on a Maggie Strohm basket, then the Warriors scored the next 13 points, Franny Ramsdell getting 10 of them.
Old Orchard Beach’s Maggie Strohm looks for an opening between Wells’ Franny Ramsdell, left, and Logan Bedell.
Her driving basket put Wells ahead for good, 6-5. She followed with two foul shots, then a 3-pointer.
After Mackenzie Foss hit a 3-pointer, Franny Ramsdell drove in to score a three-point play that made it 17-5 with 3:11 left in the first.
“I was shooting with confidence tonight,” she said. “It’s a lot to do with my team and how they have confidence in me shooting, and a lot of transition and getting the open shot.”
Indeed, Wells likes to push the tempo and did that in the first half against Old Orchard’s 2-3 zone.
The Warriors also forced 13 turnovers in the first half and went into halftime with a 34-23 lead.
Old Orchard Beach’s Maggie Strohm goes to the basket while being defended by Grace Ramsdell of Wells.
But the Seagulls switched to a 1-3-1 matchup zone in the second half and slowed the Warriors. Old Orchard scored the first six points of the fourth quarter, with two free throws by Shani Plante (14 points) making it 44-38 with 4:32 left.
With Old Orchard pressing, Mallory Aromando of Wells dribbled through three defenders and found Grace Ramsdell for a layup to regain an eight-point margin.
Again, Plante hit two foul shots to pull the Seagulls within six, but the Warriors broke the press again, leading to Bedell’s two foul shots. Strohm (11 points) then hit two foul shots with 2:20 left to make it 48-42. The Seagulls twice had a chance to cut it further but missed two shots. Finally, Foss cut through the middle and passed to Grace Ramsdell alone in the right corner. Her 3-pointer was true and Wells had a nine-point lead with 1:22 left.
Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:
mlowe@pressherald.com
Twitter: MikeLowePPH
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