SOUTH PORTLAND—So far, so good for the South Portland’s girls’ basketball team.
And new coach Brianne Maloney.
Friday evening at Beal Gymnasium, the Red Riots played their first home game and faced their first stern test of the 2024-25 season, as they matched up against rival and nemesis Scarborough.
And South Portland saved its best for last to make an early statement and continue its fast start to the year.
Neither squad could get much going in a first quarter which ended 8-8, but with 3:06 remaining in the second period, a three-point play from sophomore Annie Whitmore put the Red Riots in front for good.
South Portland clung to a 20-16 lead at the half, then went up by nine in the third quarter, thanks to consecutive hoops from junior post standout Destiny Peter, before the Red Storm crept back to 35-30 by the end of the frame.
The Red Riots then dominated the final stanza, as sophomore Mya Lawrence began the quarter with consecutive 3-pointers and strong play down the stretch from Peter and senior Emma Travis helped South Portland pull away and prevail, 51-32.
Lawrence led the way with 15 points, Peter added a double-double and the Red Riots improved to 3-0 on the season, dropping Scarborough to 2-1 in the process.
“I’m really pleased,” Maloney said. “The girls stepped up. We played an OK first half. We went in at halftime and talked about some things we needed to change and they came out and executed everything we talked about and more.”
The ties that bind
Scarborough and South Portland have plenty of similarities.
Both programs are perennially competitive, wear red and have Mike Giordano in common.
Giordano coached the Red Riots for 17 years and has spent the past dozen seasons leading the Red Storm.
At the end of his South Portland tenure, Giordano coached an up-and-coming star named Brianne Maloney.
“I’m so proud of (Brianne),” Giordano said. “I’ve known her Dad (South Portland assistant coach John Maloney) a long time and (assistant coach) Kelsey (Flaherty) played for me as well. It was very easy to walk into this gym tonight. It was like old home week.”
“It was definitely exciting to be matched up against (Coach Giordano) first home game,” said Brianne Maloney. “I remember my senior year, he was coaching there and our Senior Night was against Scarborough. It was a cool experience. It’s always nice to see him.”
Maloney, who replaced Lynne Hasson, inherited a squad that was knocked off in the Class AA South semifinals last season to wind up 15-5, then returned just about everyone.
South Portland opened with victories at Noble (51-19) and Lewiston (63-29).
Scarborough, meanwhile, got to the Class AA South Final last year, losing to Gorham (46-37), to wind up 15-6.
The Red Storm graduated standout Caroline Hartley (now playing at Colby College), but return a lot and expect to be one of the final teams standing yet again. Scarborough started with a 54-14 victory at Bonny Eagle, then downed visiting Portland Tuesday (48-31).
Last winter, the rivals played three times and the road team won both regular season meetings, as Scarborough prevailed at South Portland (45-40) before the Red Riots returned the favor (54-44). The teams met a third time, in the Class AA South semifinals at the Cross Insurance Arena, and the Red Storm held on for a 36-31 victory.
Friday, South Portland drew first blood against its rival in the first of two (possibly three) showdowns.

South Portland junior Stella Henderson hauls in a long outlet pass on a fast break during the Red Riots’ 51-32 win over Scarborough Friday. Photos courtesy Kneka Smith.
The Red Storm scored first, after a steal from senior Emerson Flaker, as she set up senior Isabel Freedman for a layup, then Freedman hit a jump shot for a 4-0 advantage.
It took almost until the midway point of the opening period for South Portland to score, but a driving layup from Travis, followed by a 3-pointer in transition from Travis, gave the Red Riots their first lead, 5-4.
Scarborough went back on top on a driving layup from sophomore Eva Alvarez, but Lawrence, who grabbed six first quarter rebounds despite being one of the smaller players on the floor, pulled up and hit a 3-ball.
Flaker then drove for a layup with 9.1 seconds remaining, forging an 8-8 tie after eight minutes.
Both teams began the second period slowly as well.
It took until 5:27 remained in the half before senior Megan Rumelhart banked home a shot for the Red Storm.
Peter scored her first points, on a putback, 13 seconds later, but Rumelhart took a pass from junior Helena Bukarac and made a layup.
After Peter drove for a layup to tie the score, Flaker drove for a layup and a 14-12 lead with 3:54 on the clock.
That would prove to be the Red Storm’s last lead.
Forty-eight seconds later, Whitmore scored on a putback while being fouled, then added the and-one free throw and the Red Riots wouldn’t look back.
After Whitmore set up Lawrence for a 3 in transition, Scarborough senior Ellie Rumelhart countered with a leaner, but with 1:11 remaining, Peters’ putback gave South Portland a 20-16 advantage at the break.
Lawrence and Peter each had six points and seven rebounds in the first half, but the biggest difference was the Red Riots’ commanding 26-10 advantage on the glass.
South Portland tried to pull away in the third period, but the visitors were able to hang tough.
The second half began with Peter setting up junior Caleigh Corcoran for a 3-pointer.
After Bukarac countered with a 3-ball, Lawrence found Whitmore for another 3 and a 26-19 lead.
Back came the Red Storm, as Megan Rumelhart made her team’s lone two free throw attempts of the evening, then Flaker set up Bukarac for a 3 in transition to cut the deficit to two.
The Red Riots returned serve, as Lawrence sank a 3 from the corner, Peter drove and banked home a shot, then with 1:44 remaining, junior Stella Henderson fed Peter for another layup to make it 33-24.
Scarborough crept closer behind its outside shooting, as an Ellie Rumelhart 3-pointer hit the rim and dropped and after Travis hit a jumper for South Portland, Bukarac’s 3-ball with 44 seconds to go pulled the Red Storm within five, 35-30, with eight minutes to go.
The Red Riots then closed with a flourish.
Thirty-two seconds into the fourth quarter, Whitmore set up Lawrence for a corner 3.
With 6:37 remaining, Lawrence passed up a 3-point attempt, dribbled and after a defender backed off, she did launch a 3 and buried it to make it 41-30.
“I just shoot it,” said Lawrence. “If you think about it, it won’t go in. I’m a confident shooter. I think it’s just effort and feeling the energy from my teammates.”
“We knew from last year that Mya’s a great defender in the fullcourt and she can shoot the ball well,” Maloney said. “It’s about confidence for her. Tonight, I didn’t have to encourage her to shoot 3s. She had success and her teammates hyped her up. That will help her for the rest of the season.”
With 6:19 on the clock, Megan Rumelhart set up Ellie Rumelhart for a backdoor layup, but that would prove to be the end of Scarborough’s offense.
Lawrence found Peter for a layup to counter, then Whitmore set up Corcoran for a layup before Peter stole the ball and laid it in with 3:13 to go to end the competitive phase of the game.
Down the stretch, Travis sank two free throws, then, after she blocked a shot at the defensive end, Travis drove for a layup.
South Portland slammed the door from there and celebrated its 51-32 victory.
“We knew we needed to get it done,” said Travis. “We knew there were only eight minutes left and we needed to finish strong. It shows our resilience. We’ve been hyping each other up. We didn’t let last year’s loss affect us. It’s a new season and a new team.”
“We were fired up to play Scarborough,” Lawrence said. “There’s always a rivalry and it feels good to beat them. I think our energy is much higher this year and we’re playing for each other.”
“The girls are playing team basketball,” Maloney added. “It’s nice when everyone on the floor can be a threat and that’s what we showed in the fourth quarter. We don’t talk about the next game or year’s past. (The playoff game) was on their mind, but I didn’t want to put any more emphasis on it. We just focused on what we needed to do.”
Lawrence finished with a team-high 15 points, all coming on 3-point shots. Lawrence also had seven rebounds and two assists.
Peter had 14 points and a dozen rebounds, as well as five steals.
“We focus a lot on getting the ball into (Destiny),” Maloney said. “She’s a threat whether she’s passing the ball back out or looking to score. Teams have to be worried about where she is. She allows players like Mya and Emma to get open shots.”
Travis added 11 points and five rebounds.
“Emma’s like a second coach on the floor for us,” said Maloney. “She’s been in a leadership role since she was a sophomore. She steps up in moments when it looks like we’re falling apart. We rely a lot on her, but she’s willing to step up. The girls respect her and listen to her. That helps us in moments of crisis.”
Whitmore had six points, seven rebounds and five assists and Corcoran finished with five points and seven rebounds.
The Red Riots enjoyed a commanding 42-19 rebounding advantage, overcame 19 turnovers and made 3-of-3 free throws.
Scarborough got nine points and four rebounds from Bukarac, seven points and three steals from Ellie Rumelhart, six points and a pair of assists from Megan Rumelhart, four points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals from Flaker, four points and three rebounds from Freedman and two points from Alvarez.
The Red Storm made both free throw attempts and turned the ball over 12 times.
“We struggled to shoot it tonight,” Giordano said. “Even in the first half, we had a lot of front rim shots. It was just one of those nights. South Portland’s a very good team and they did a nice job on the glass. First half, that was the difference. We need to score off turnovers. They didn’t give us dribble penetration opportunities in the halfcourt.”
Big tests
The road remains challenging for both squads.
Scarborough plays at Thornton Academy Tuesday, then welcomes Gorham in a regional final rematch next Friday.
“We learned a lot about ourselves tonight,” Giordano said. “We have many tests to come. I think our kids will respond.”
South Portland is at reigning Class AA state champion Cheverus Tuesday, then hosts highly-touted Sanford Friday of next week.
“It feels good, but we have to keep working hard in practice and prepare for the next game,” Travis said. “We just have to keep our focus and energy up. We have to keep supporting each other.”
“I’m pleased where things are, but we’re taking it game-by-game,” said Maloney. “We don’t look ahead and focus on the next opponent. Cheverus has been a rival for me since I was in school and they’re still a rival. They’re competitive, well-coached. We’ll look at what they’re doing and what we do well. We’ll focus on what we can exploit.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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