BOX SCORE

Falmouth 41 Morse 29

M- 13 7 5 4- 29
F- 8 7 11 15- 41

M- Shipley 4-0-8, Chabot 2-2-7, Werner 2-2-6, Bryant 1-2-4, Lucas 1-1-3, Kirkpatrick 0-1-1

F- Turgeon 9-2-25, Ginevan 3-1-7, Lozoraitis 1-3-5, Christman 1-1-4

3-pointers:
M (1) Chabot 1
F (6) Turgeon 5, Christman 1

Turnovers:
M- 21
F- 12

FTs
M: 8-12
F: 7-17

PORTLAND—Survive and advance.

That’s what February basketball is all about.

Winning by any means necessary.

Even if it’s far from a thing of beauty.

Falmouth’s third-ranked girls’ team was frustrated by No. 6 Morse for most of the teams’ Class A South quarterfinal Monday afternoon at the Portland Exposition Building, but Navigators junior standout Anna Turgeon refused to let her team falter and as a result, Falmouth lives to play another day.

The Shipbuilders scored almost half their points in the first quarter, taking a 13-8 lead.

In the second period, Falmouth got as close as four before Morse took a 20-15 advantage to the half.

The Navigators then awakened in the third quarter, as a Turgeon 3 gave them their first lead since the first quarter and Falmouth clung to a 26-25 advantage heading to the final stanza.

There, the Shipbuilders went back ahead on a putback from sophomore Maddy Werner, but Turgeon set up junior Sloane Ginevan for the go-ahead basket, before draining a 3 for some insurance.

After sophomore Maddy Christman added a clutch 3, Turgeon made another, allowing the Navigators to put it away, 41-29.

Turgeon was superb, leading all scorers with 25 points, as Falmouth improved to 14-5, ended Morse’s season at 8-11 and advanced to set up a showdown with rival Greely (14-4), the No. 2 seed, in the Class A South semifinals Wednesday at 1 p.m., at the Expo.

“It was a tough game, but I didn’t expect it to be like it was when we played at their place (earlier this season),” said Navigators coach Dawn Armandi. “The tournament brings out the best and the worst out of teams. We just had to settle down, take care of the basketball and control the tempo of the game and we did a much better job of that in the second half.”

Refuse to lose

When at full strength, Falmouth was as good as anyone this winter, but the Navigators had their share of injuries and COVID-related absences to contend with and as a result, finished third in the region, even though they finished strong with seven wins in a row, highlighted by a palpitating overtime victory at Brunswick.

Morse endured a couple of four-game skids during the regular season and in Wednesday’s preliminary round, eliminated No. 11 Fryeburg Academy, 43-31, to advance.

On Feb. 2 in Bath, Falmouth defeated the Shipbuilders, 51-30.

Falmouth beat Morse in the teams’ lone prior playoff meeting, 58-54, in the 2018 Class A South preliminary round.

This time around, the Shipbuilders gave the Navigators fits until they finally pulled away down the stretch.

Falmouth scored first, as Turgeon hit a jumper, and after junior Danielle Bryant made a jumper to tie it, junior Justine Means stole the ball and set up Ginevan for a layup and a 4-2 lead.

After sophomore Haley Kirkpatrick fed Werner for a layup, Falmouth took its last lead of the first half on a free throw from Christman, but Shipley took a feed from senior Julia Lucas and put the Shipbuilders on top with a layup, then senior Olivia Chabot drained a 3 for a 9-5 advantage.

Ginevan and Lucas traded free throws and Turgeon drove for a layup before Morse ended the first quarter with a free throw from Werner and a Lucas putback for a surprising 13-8 lead.

Things didn’t get any better for Falmouth in the second period.

The Shipbuilders started with a layup after a steal from Shipley and a free throw from Werner before Turgeon countered with her first 3.

Freshman Emma Hart set up Shipley for a layup before Turgeon made another 3, but with 3:01 left in the first half, Ginevan was called for a charge, her third foul, and she had to sit the remainder of the half.

Chabot made two foul shots for Morse’s final points of the half before junior Katie Lozoraitis made a free throw to pull the Navigators within 20-15 at the break.

In the first half, Falmouth got 10 points from Turgeon, but made just 5-of-25 field goals and 3-of-10 foul shots.

Turgeon then sparked a comeback in the third quarter.

First, Ginevan returned and stole the ball and hit a short jumper.

Ginevan then set up Turgeon for a short jumper, but two Bryant free throws snapped a 5 minute, 46 second scoring drought to make it 22-19 Shipbuilders.

After Turgeon again cut the deficit to one with a layup, Chabot put Morse back in the lead with a jumper.

Then, with 3:56 on the clock, Turgeon lined up a 3-ball and buried it to tie the score.

After a Kirkpatrick foul shot, Turgeon stole the ball and set up Lozoraitis for a layup and for the first time since the first period, Falmouth was back on top, 26-25, a lead the Navigators took the fourth period.

And there, Falmouth pulled away to prevail.

First, Werner scored on a putback with 7:03 to play to give the Shipbuilders their last lead, but the next 11 points went to the Navigators.

Twelve seconds later, Turgeon set up Ginevan underneath and Ginevan managed to scoop the ball in to put her team ahead for good.

“That was a huge game-changer,” said Turgeon. “Sloane got hyped after that and the fans went crazy. I loved having the student section. They were super-encouraging.”

With 5:43 to go, in transition, Falmouth added to its lead on a play that was as simple as 1-2-3, as Ginevan (number one) found Turgeon (number two) for a long 3.

Then, with 4:29 left, Christman buried a 3 up top to make it 34-27.

“That 3 from Maddy was huge,” Turgeon said. “That gave us some breathing room.”

Turgeon then delivered the dagger with 2:08 on the clock, another 3-ball from the corner.

After Shipley scored on a difficult angle reverse layup 24 seconds later, to snap a 5:19 drought, Lozoraitis hit two free throws, then Turgeon sank two more for her final points as Falmouth brought the curtain down on its 41-29 victory.

“We had a good talk at halftime and brought a lot of energy in the second half,” Turgeon said. “We talked about how we got our nerves out and we’d bring energy starting on the defensive end and it carried over to the offensive end.

“(Being behind) was really nervewracking especially not having played in the tournament last year. We have a ton of girls who have never played in a playoff game before, some of our starters even, but I had confidence. We’ve done a lot of situational work in practice where we’re down and we’ve been able to execute.

“We knew it would be a tough game. They played us pretty tough the first half the first time we played them, so we knew we couldn’t take them lightly.”

Turgeon didn’t just lead all scorers with 25 points, she also had eight rebounds and five steals.

“We’ve prepared for this game (and the different shooting background) by shooting in practice and I got my confidence up,” Turgeon said. “I’m so glad to be back. I love the basketball tournament. It’s so much fun.”

“Anna’s been playing great all year,” said Armandi.

Despite being in foul trouble, Ginevan added seven key points, as well four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Lozoraitis had five points and four steals and Christman had four points and nine boards.

Means didn’t score, but contributed four assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals.

“The thing I love about this team is that everybody steps up,” Armandi said. “We’ve come together as a team. We know teams will focus on Anna and Sloane and we need other girls to step up. They did it tonight. Katie brought us defensive energy. That’s usually Sloane’s job, but she was in foul trouble. Maddy’s a great shooter too. She’s surrounded by a lot of great players. She can do it all. That was a huge 3 from her. ”

The Navigators only made 7-of-17 free throws, but took good care of the ball, only giving it away 12 times.

Morse was led by Shipley, who had eight points and six steals. Chabot added seven points, Werner six (to go with eight rebounds, three steals and a couple assists), Bryant four (as well as five rebounds), Lucas three (to go with eight rebounds and two assists) and Kirkpatrick one.

The Shipbuilders had a 38-30 rebound advantage and made 8-of-12 free throws, but turned the ball over 21 times.

Rivalry game

Falmouth and Greely played way back on Jan. 11, a 67-53 Rangers’ win in Falmouth.

The squads have split two prior playoff meetings, with Falmouth prevailing, 47-44, in overtime, in the 2008 Western B semifinals and the Rangers squeezing out a 42-40 win in the 2013 Western B preliminary round.

“We always have a tough game against Greely,” Turgeon said. “They have some really good players. We have a couple days to prepare. I’m super-excited to come back here Wednesday.”

“We know Greely well,” said Armandi. “We were down players the first time and got in foul trouble. We just want to be healthy and we’ll play anybody.”

Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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