Deering’s girls continue surge with win at Greely

CUMBERLAND—Deering’s girls’ basketball team is having a lot of fun this winter.

And it’s no secret why.

The senior-laden Rams have learned how to win and in their first season in Class A South, the fun could just be beginning as they figure to be a very tough out in the upcoming regional tournament.

Tuesday evening, Deering traveled to Greely with playoff positioning and Heal Points at stake and thanks to a strong team defensive effort and a huge offensive game from senior point guard Natalie Santiago, managed to go over the .500 mark for the first time this season.

The Rams took a quick 6-0 lead and were up, 8-6, after one quarter, then held an 18-12 advantage at halftime, thanks to seven points from Santiago.

In the third period, Deering held the Rangers to just two foul shots and went ahead by a 27-14 margin.

Greely tried to rally in the fourth quarter, but never got closer than nine points as Santiago made 10 free throws and helped close out a 46-34 victory.

Santiago led the way with 25 points, 15 of them coming from the line, as the Rams improved to 9-8 with their third consecutive victory and in the process, ended the Rangers’ regular season at 8-10.

“When we don’t know about the opponent, we just think about them as the best team in the state and we go into the game with the most intensity we have,” said Santiago, who will play next year at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. “There’s definitely a different energy in the locker room this year. We’re having so much fun together. It feels so good.”

A rarity

Deering and Greely have long been championship contenders, but in different classes.

This winter, the Rams moved down to Class A South, joining the Rangers, among others, and both teams have been up and down over the past two months.

Deering started with a 49-43 home loss to Freeport, then gave host Brunswick, the reigning regional champions, a scare in a 43-39 setback. The Rams then got in the win column at Falmouth (41-36) and again at home over rival Portland (45-39) before losing at home to powerhouse Cheverus (61-27) and at Lewiston (55-34). Deering earned its biggest win to date, 37-31, at home over Mt. Ararat, then went overtime to prevail at Kennebunk (53-46) before falling at Marshwood (55-27) and at home to Falmouth (42-41, in overtime), before holding off visiting Westbrook, 31-27. After losing at home to Brunswick (52-37), the Rams won at Fryeburg Academy (35-14), lost at home to Gray-New Gloucester (44-39) and beat visiting Kennebunk (54-37) and host Westbrook (53-43).

“The move to Class A has brought some fire to us,” Santiago said. “We’re more focused.”

“This has been a good move for the school,” said longtime Deering coach Mike Murphy. “Hopefully we gain numbers and get basketball back in a positive light at the school. We’ve been playing tough against most teams at the AA level and just not finishing games off and winning. We’ve struggled against Oxford Hills and Cheverus, but everyone does. The Bangors, the Hampdens and the Windhams, we were competing like crazy, but just not getting over the top.”

Greely, meanwhile, lost at home in overtime to Westbrook in the opener (56-54), then fell at two-time reigning Class AA South champion Gorham (56-30). After beating host Freeport (47-40), the Rangers lost at home to Gray-New Gloucester (53-43) and at Fryeburg Academy (43-41). Greely then won four straight: 52-48 over visiting Wells, 53-44 over visiting York, 47-37 at Falmouth and 54-22 at Kennebunk. Three losses then ensued: 40-26 to visiting Sanford, 54-12 at Mt. Ararat and 66-41 at Cheverus. The Rangers then beat visiting Cape Elizabeth (62-18), lost at Brunswick (59-36), edged visiting Marshwood (41-40) and Yarmouth (42-39) and lost at Gray-New Gloucester in their most recent outing, (68-26).

While Tuesday’s contest was the first countable game in memory between the teams, it wasn’t the first time Murphy coached at Greely. During his time at Scarborough, he played the Rangers regularly and lost on his last visit to Cumberland, 55-20, way back on Dec. 30, 2002.

Tuesday proved to be a different story as Murphy’s Rams led almost the entire way and continued their recent upward trend.

Deering senior Natalie Santiago goes up for two of her game-high 25 points in Tuesday’s 46-34 win at Greely. Hoffer photos.

Santiago set the tone with a free throw 48 seconds in. Senior Shay Rosenthal then drove and banked home a shot and with 4:45 to go in the opening stanza, senior Maya Gayle sank a 3-pointer for a quick 6-0 lead.

But Greely came right back.

After senior Asja Kelman took a pass from senior Zada Smith and made a layup with 4:21 left in the frame to break the ice, Kelman banked home a shot, then with 2:11 to go, Smith made a layup after a steal to tie it.

But 39 seconds later, freshman Angelina Keo banked home a shot to give Deering an 8-6 lead after one quarter.

A lead the Rams wouldn’t relinquish.

The second period began with Santiago draining a 3-pointer in transition (off a pass from Rosenthal).

After senior Kylie Crocker set up senior Avery Butler for a layup for the Rangers, Rosenthal inbounded the ball to Keo for a layup, then Santiago added a free throw to make it 14-8.

With 5:55 left, junior Molly Partridge pulled Greely within four with a putback, but that would be the Rangers’ last field goal for a long, long time.

Kelman cut the deficit to three with a free throw, but Rosenthal set up Santiago for a layup, then Gayle scored on a putback before a foul shot from Smith pulled the Rangers within six, 18-12, at the half.

Deering’s defense then put the clamps on Greely in the third period and a six-point lead grew to 13 by quarter’s end.

Greely senior Lauren Hester is defended by Deering senior Sophie Hill.

As she did to begin the game, Santiago started the second half with a free throw, then she drove for a layup.

After Hester got a point back at the line, Keo made a free throw before Santiago set up Gayle for a layup on the fastbreak to make it 24-13.

Kelman answered with a free throw, but Santiago made a pair, then inside the final minute, freshman Blake Gayle added a foul shot for a 27-14 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.

There, Santiago opened the frame with a 3-pointer for the Rams’ biggest lead of the night and at that moment, her 15 points were one more than Greely’s total.

That changed with 7:14 to go, when Hester made a 3, giving the Rangers their first field goal in 14 minutes, 41 seconds.

Smith drove for a layup, but on consecutive possessions, Santiago drew the defense, then set up senior Sophie Hill for layups to make it 34-19 with 4:38 to play.

After Smith hit a free throw, a Kelman layup with 3:36 to go cut the deficit to 12.

Hill made a layup on the fastbreak, from Maya Gayle, but Partridge knocked down a 3-pointer, then with 2:17 remaining, a Kelman layup cut Deering’s lead to 36-27.

Santiago restored order with two free throws and after senior Kylie Crocker sank a foul shot for the Rangers, Santiago made two more free throws with 1:49 left for a 40-28 advantage.

After Smith hit two foul shots, Santiago went back to the line and hit two more attempts.

Kelman answered with a bank shot, then senior Haley Stewart made a free throw to make it 42-33 with 46 seconds to go, but Santiago essentially ended all doubt with two more foul shots eight seconds later.

“I love the intensity from the other team’s student section,” Santiago said. “It gets me going and motivated to make those big shots down the stretch.”

After Stewart hit a free throw for Greely’s final point, Santiago slammed the door with her 14th and 15th foul shots of the night and the Rams went on to a 46-34 victory.

“Defensively, we did well pressuring their guards,” Santiago said. “I’m really proud of my team.”

“It’s a good win,” Murphy said. “I’m very pleased with the kids. The second and third quarters, we were very good defensively.”

Santiago not only led all scorers with 25 points, she also had three assists, played strong defense and provided steady ball-handling.

“When I was getting pressured, my teammates did a good job getting to the right spots and I was able to dump the ball down to them,” Santiago said. “Getting to the basket was my plan. I was pressured quite a bit by their guards, so I wanted to get open and attack as much as I could, which is why I got so many free throws.”

“Natalie had a great defensive effort, she took care of the ball, settled everyone done, spaced everyone out,” Murphy said. “She’s been that way all season, but she’s really come into her own in the last two-thirds of the season. With her back there quarterbacking, it’s a relief.”

Maya Gayle added seven points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Hill had six points and five rebounds, Keo finished with five points and six rebounds before falling out, Rosenthal had two points, five assists and four rebounds and Blake Gayle finished with one point.

Deering only committed nine turnovers and took 29 free throws, making 17 of them.

“I tell the kids if you want to get fouled, you better knock them down,” said Murphy. “Those were big points with the clock stopped and we made the other team pay.”

Greely was paced by Kelman, who had a dozen points and six rebounds. Smith added eight points, four rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals. Partridge finished with five points (and eight rebounds), Hester had four (as well as eight rebounds), Butler and Stewart two apiece and Crocker one (to go with five rebounds).

The Rangers enjoyed a 37-30 advantage on the glass and only turned the ball over 12 times, but they missed 12 of their 22 foul shot attempts and just couldn’t consistently put the ball in the basket.

“We couldn’t score tonight,” longtime Greely coach Todd Flaherty said. “That was the tale. We played hard, but we weren’t at our best. We’ve watched quite a bit of film on (Deering). We knew their guards were solid and we were going to have a hard time turning them over. They were physically bigger than us too.”

Almost tournament time

Greely fell to the No. 5 spot in the Class A South Heal Points standings. The Rangers will return to action Monday, Feb. 19 at the Portland Exposition Building in the quarterfinals against a foe to be determined.

“Overall, our record is about what I expected,” Flaherty said. “We played a really tough schedule, but that should make us better for the tournament. We didn’t finish on a high note which we always try to do, but we have a game left and a lot of time to get better and healthy. We’ll go in there and play loose. We play good enough defense, so if we shoot the ball well, we could surprise somebody.”

Deering (currently ranked sixth in the Class A South Heal Points standings) has one regular season game remaining, Thursday at Mt. Ararat, and could still move up the standings before looking to make a run in the playoffs.

“We know we can have a good game with anybody,” Santiago said. “We’ll give it our best. We don’t want it to end. We’re having so much fun.”

“I’m happy for the girls,” Murphy said. “They stayed with it and didn’t quit. For them to have some success, I’m very pleased. They have great attitudes. They play for each other. They want to be coached and it’s a pleasure having them. I like where the kids are matching intensity with the coaching staff and it’s nice to see. (The Expo) will be a different environment. We’ll have to control our jitters. We have to play good, tough defense and we have to take care of the ball. Each possession is valuable. If we keep the turnovers down and make the layups, you never know what can happen.”