Northern: Local hoops team primed for tournament excitement

Buckle up – tournament time is upon us.

And what a tournament it promises to be.

Eight of the 10 Forecaster Country teams will be chasing Gold Balls in the days to come and here’s how it shakes out:

Looking to break through

Graca Bila is the lone senior on a North Yarmouth Academy girls’ basketball team that is ranked first in Class C South this winter. File photo.

North Yarmouth Academy’s girls’ team lost in the Class C South Final to Hall-Dale in 2022 and in overtime to Old Orchard Beach a year ago and after graduating some great players, was expected to come back to the pack this winter.

Guess again.

Last Wednesday, the Panthers capped their program record-tying 17-1 regular season with a 59-30 home victory over Sacopee Valley. Athena Gee drained eight 3-point shots and led the way with 28 points, while Ella Giguere added 13.

“The one first one rolled in, then I caught on fire,” Gee said. “I just wanted to keep shooting. I thought we’d be better than a lot of people did, but I’m a little surprised. We worked as a team every practice to get better and play our own game and we don’t let other teams determine our play.”

“We’re really excited,” said Graca Bila, the team’s lone senior, who was honored in a pregame ceremony.. “This year has been a surprise to me. We knew early in the season we had found our game. We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing. Focus on ourselves and our game and support each other.”

“Credit to the girls,” NYA coach Tom Robinson added. “They’ve done a really good job. We’ve had good leadership this year with Graca and Ella. It’s a fun unit. They get along and share the ball. Everyone does something well and we put the pieces together.”

The Panthers wound up with the top seed in Class C South for the second year in a row and will take on either No. 8 Carrabec (10-8) or No. 9 Searsport (7-11) in the quarterfinals Tuesday of next week at 8:30 p.m. at the Augusta Civic Center. NYA downed the visiting Cobras, 55-31, on Feb. 1 and beat them, 42-28, in the semifinals two years ago in the teams’ lone prior playoff meeting. The Panthers didn’t meet Searsport this season or ever in the postseason.

NYA is ready to make a run at an elusive title, even if it has to go through second-seeded Hall-Dale, the lone team to beat the Panthers this season, to get there.

“We’ve really come together,” said Gee. “It’s a big difference shooting up there (in Augusta), but I’m looking forward to it. I think we can make a run.”

“If we had gone up (to Hall-Dale) and lost by 20 and played really well, I’d be worried, but we turned the ball over a ton in that first game,” Robinson said. “They play tough man-to-man defense. I don’t think we were ready for that. It helped playing them once. They’re good and they’re deep.

“We won’t overlook anybody. We’ll see the matchups and whose style can give us trouble. Every matchup is different. It won’t be easy. Last year, I felt we’d get to the final, but this year, it would be a really good accomplishment.”

In Class B South, Yarmouth capped a 10-8 regular season with last Wednesday’s 41-40 come-from-behind home win at Lake Region. Neena Panozzo helped spark the victory with 20 points, while Cate King added 10.

The Clippers earned the No. 6 seed and will take on reigning regional champion No. 3 Spruce Mountain (16-2) in the quarterfinals Saturday at 9 p.m., at the Portland Exposition Building (see our website for game story). The teams didn’t meet this season and have never played in the playoffs.

If Yarmouth springs the upset, it will face either No. 2 Medomak Valley (14-4) or No. 7 York (11-7) in Tuesday’s semifinals in Portland.

In Class A South, Greely finished 8-10 after last week’s 46-34 home loss to Deering. Asja Kelman had 12 points, but it wasn’t enough, as the Rangers finished sixth in the region.

“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.”

The Rangers will face No. 3 Gray-New Gloucester (15-3) in the quarterfinals Monday at 1 p.m., in Portland. Greely dropped both meetings to the Patriots this season, 53-43 at home and 68-26 on the road. The teams have split six prior tournament encounters, with Gray-New Gloucester taking the most recent, 39-25, in last year’s quarterfinals.

“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.”

Freeport earned the No. 7 seed after posting an 8-10 mark and will meet No. 2 Brunswick (16-2), the reigning regional champion, in the quarterfinals Monday at 2:30 p.m., at the Expo (see our website for game story). The Falcons lost at home to the Dragons, 59-32, back on Jan. 27. The teams have no playoff history.

Falmouth finished 4-14 and 10th in Class A South, where only eight teams qualified. The Navigators finished with a 47-36 home loss to Westbrook.

Falmouth boys hope third time’s the charm

Senior Chris Simonds hopes to lead Falmouth’s boys’ team to the pinnacle in Class A. File photo.

On the boys’ side, Falmouth has lost in the Class A state final two years running, including an agonizing one-point defeat to Brewer last winter, and this time around, the Navigators are poised to take the final step.

Falmouth earned the No. 2 seed in Class A South with a 15-3 record after closing with a 56-30 home win over Freeport last Tuesday. Chris Simonds led the way with 16 points and Billy Birks added 13.

The Navigators will take on No. 7 Westbrook (8-10) in the quarterfinals Saturday at 5:30 p.m., at the Portland Exposition Building (see our website for game story). Falmouth won the regular season meeting, 75-57, Dec. 12 at Westbrook. Last year, the Navigators improved to 4-0 versus the Blue Blazes in the tournament with a 52-33 semifinal round victory.

If, as expected, Falmouth moves on to the semifinals Wednesday at the Expo, it would face either No. 3 Noble (14-4) or No. 6 Greely (9-9). The Navigators beat the visiting Knights, 51-48, Jan. 19, and downed the visiting Rangers, 72-47, Jan. 3.

Freeport wound up fourth in the region with a 13-5 mark, its best since the 2007-08 team, coached by Craig Sickels, reached the regional final. The Falcons closed with a 56-30 setback at Falmouth. JT Pound had a team-high 11 points.

Freeport takes on No. 5 Kennebunk (12-6) in the quarterfinals Saturday at 7:30 p.m., at the Expo (see our website for game story). The Falcons lost, 62-41, at the Rams Jan. 25. The teams have no playoff history.

If Freeport advances, it will likely face top-ranked Gray-New Gloucester (16-2) in the semifinals Wednesday in Portland. The Falcons lost, 64-56, to the visiting Patriots Feb. 2.

Greely ended up 9-9 and sixth in Class A South following wins at Biddeford (58-48) and Wells (71-64). Against the Tigers, Brogan Raftice scored 18 points while Kade Ippolito and Logan Vergara added 13 apiece. Owen Partridge went off for 28 points and Ippolito added 10.

The Rangers take on No. 3 Noble in the quarterfinals Saturday at 4 p.m., at the Expo (see our website for game story). Greely lost the regular season meeting, 70-57, at home. The teams have no playoff history.

In Class B South, Yarmouth rose from the depths of a 1-5 start to the season to finish 11-7 and fifth after closing with a 69-58 win at Lake Region last Wednesday. Evan Hamm had a team-high 27 points, while Matt Gautreau added 11.

The Clippers take on No. 4 Medomak Valley (15-3) in the quarterfinals Friday at 7 p.m., at the Expo (see our website for game story). Yarmouth dropped a 63-58, double-overtime home decision to the Panthers Dec. 30. The Clippers won the lone prior playoff meeting, 47-35, in the regional final two years ago.

If Yarmouth advances, it will likely get a shot at top-ranked, undefeated Oceanside (18-0), the reigning regional champion, in the semifinals. Four days before Christmas, the Clippers lost, 78-67, at the Mariners. Oceanside outlasted Yarmouth in last year’s memorable regional final, 71-67, in overtime, to even the all-time postseason series at 1-1.

In Class C South, NYA finished 6-12 and 14th, but only 12 teams qualified for the playoffs. Last week, the Panthers wrapped up their regular season with a 51-37 home win over Sacopee Valley. Senior Nate Oney capped his stellar career with 36 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals.