SCARBOROUGH—The names and the faces may change, but Gorham’s girls basketball team continues to frustrate the daylights out of the Scarborough Red Storm.

Friday evening at Alumni Gymnasium, the rivals met for the first time since last year’s regional final and neither squad shot very well in a first half which ended 15-10 Rams.

Gorham then went ahead by as many as seven points on a couple different occasions in the third quarter, before the Red Storm finished strong and drew within one, 26-25, on consecutive 3-pointers from junior Helena Bukarac and freshman Ella Herzberg.

Thirty-one seconds into the fourth period, senior Ellie Rumelhart’s basket gave Scarborough its first lead since the first quarter, but 40 seconds after that, senior Vanessa Walker buried a 3 and the Rams were back in front to stay.

Walker’s shot sparked a 17-5 run to end the contest and Gorham went on to a 43-32 victory, staying undefeated on the season.

Walker led all scorers with 14 points as the Rams improved to 5-0 and in the process, dropped the Red Storm to 3-2.

“We know we can play with (Gorham),” said Scarborough coach Mike Giordano. “We just have to find a way to get over the hump. To their credit, they hit a couple open 3s and that was the difference in the game.”

More of the same

Scarborough started with a 54-14 victory at Bonny Eagle, then downed visiting Portland (48-31), before dropping a 51-32 decision at South Portland. Tuesday, the Red Storm beat host Thornton Academy, 53-35, but lost senior Megan Rumelhart to an ankle injury in the process.

Gorham, which got to the Class AA state final a year ago, only to lose to Cheverus (38-24), has stormed out of the gate this winter, defeating Falmouth (70-15), Windham (33-25), Greely (57-24) and Bonny Eagle (59-18) in previous action.

Last year, the Rams captured all three meetings, 43-32 at home, 53-35 in Scarborough, then 46-37 in the Class AA South Final.

Friday, the Red Storm looked to beat Gorham for the first time since Jan. 18, 2022 (44-39 at home), but instead, the Rams made it seven straight in the series.

Scarborough junior Helena Bukarac shoots a 3-pointer over Gorham junior Logan Doughty during the Rams’ 43-32 victory Friday. Hoffer photos.

It took nearly two minutes for Gorham to break the scoring ice before junior Lauren Dunbar passed to senior Julia Reed for a layup.

With 4:40 to go in the first quarter, the Red Storm finally struck, on a 3 from Herzberg, but Dunbar countered with a 3.

With 2:56 left in the frame, senior Emerson Flaker set up freshman Eva Alvarez for a 3 and Scarborough had what proved to be its last lead for a long time, 6-5.

Thirty-five seconds later, Reed fed junior Logan Doughty on the fastbreak and Doughty’s layup allowed the Rams to cling to a 7-6 lead heading to the second period.

There, Walker scored her first points with two free throws just 13 seconds in.

With 5:36 to go before halftime, Rumelhart set up Alvarez for a 3 to snap a 6 minute, 56 second scoring drought and pull the Red Storm even, but with 3:52 remaining, a 3 from Doughty, after Walker kept possession with an offensive rebound, gave Gorham the lead back.

Rumelhart hit a free throw for Scarborough, but a 3-ball from senior Payton Thibodeau made it 15-10 Rams at the break.

The Red Storm made just three field goals, all from beyond the arc, and missed seven of their eight free throw opportunities in the first 16 minutes.

“We were 1-for-8 on free throws in the first half,” Giordano lamented. “Those are the types of things that really kill you.”

Gorham hoped to pull away in the third quarter, but Scarborough hung tough.

Scarborough senior Emerson Flaker drives on Gorham junior Zoe Dellinger.

After two scoreless minutes, Doughty found Walker on the fastbreak for a layup, but Flaker sank two free throws, then Rumelhart made a layup after a steal to cut the deficit to 17-14.

Walker countered with another layup, from Dunbar, then Bukarac scored her first points, on a jump shot.

When Dunbar made a layup (from Reed) and Doughty made a layup after a steal, the Rams had a 23-16 advantage.

Then, in a 40-second span, Bukarac sandwiched a pair of 3s around a 3-ball from Walker and with just 6.7 seconds showing, Flaker found an open Herzberg, who made a 3 as well, and just like that, the Red Storm were within a single point, 26-25, heading to the fourth quarter.

There, just 31 seconds in, Rumelhart drove for a layup and Scarborough’s first lead since the score was 6-5. Rumelhart was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw and the rest of the game would belong to Gorham.

With 6:49 left, Walker got an open look from 3-point land and knocked it down to give the Rams the lead for good.

“I’ve been trying to shoot more so I just let it fly,” Walker said. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. It was open and it felt good.”

“That was a big shot,” said longtime Gorham coach Laughn Berthiaume. “They had just taken the lead and that shot took it back. That was important, so we didn’t have to play from behind.”

After the Red Storm failed to counter, Walker scored again, on a fastbreak layup from Dunbar.

With 5;22 to go, Scarborough crept back within a point on a 3 from Alvarez, but Reed calmly countered with a 3-ball to make it 34-30 with 4:57 to play.

Dunbar then added two free throws, Doughty drove for a layup and Doughty added a free throw to make it a nine-point game with just over a minute remaining.

Alvarez drove for a layup with 59 seconds left, but that would be the Red Storm’s last hurrah.

After Reed hit two free throws, junior Zoe Dellinger did the same and that made Gorham’s 43-32 victory official.

“Honestly, the whole first half, we were a little tense,” Walker said. “We knew going in that Scarborough’s a good team and we wanted to win. Scarborough’s a very quick team, but we kept our cool in the end. For every scenario, we always have a play in mind and that helped us.”

“The shooting was off for both teams,” Berthiuame said. “That was frustrating at times, but I told the girls to defend and rebound and we’d always have a chance. It’s not always going to be pretty, but the effort was there and we were able to come out on the winning side. The girls who were on the floor have experience. We just had to take care of the ball better. It didn’t go great the entire game, but it did at the end when we needed it to.”

Walker had a game-high 14 points, to go with five rebounds. Doughty wound up with a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds). Dunbar added seven points (as well as a game-high 12 rebounds and four assists), Reed also had seven points (to go with 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals), Thibodeau had three points and Dellinger two (to go with five rebounds).

The Rams had a commanding 50-24 rebounding advantage, hit 9-of-13 free throws and overcame 19 turnovers.

For Scarborough, Alvarez led the way with 11 points. She also had four rebounds and two steals.

Bukarac added eight points, Herzberg had six, Rumelhart five (to go with six rebounds and four steals) and Flaker two (along with five assists, three rebounds and three steals).

The Red Storm only turned the ball over nine times, but hit just 3-of-11 free throws.

“It was a rock-fight tonight,” Giordano said. “Gorham’s good and experienced. Those kids know how to win. That’s half the battle. I love the effort my kids gave me. We’re in the middle of a tough stretch and we’re learning a lot about ourselves.”

Busy stretch

The rivals will battle again Jan. 24 in Gorham, but that’s a long way off considering what looms for both squads.

The Rams are home versus Noble next Friday, then close the calendar year with a home tilt versus Thornton Academy Dec. 30.

“We’re really quick this year,” Walker said. “We can push the ball hard. Everyone uplifts each other. We just need to grow together and get the team chemistry after losing over half of our lineup. We really want to get back to states and finish the deal.”

“I feel good because I feel like we still have room to improve,” said Berthiaume. “I like the upside of this team. We have good energy and chemistry. We’re still going to get better. It’s exciting. I think we’re one of the teams that hopefully, if things go right, we can put ourselves in the mix. That’s what we’re shooting for.”

Scarborough has two huge tests upcoming before the calendar flips, at highly-touted Sanford next Friday and at reigning champion Cheverus Dec. 30.

“We’re not that far away,” said Giordano. “I like my team. We have some big games coming up. It’s a fun part of the season. We have to hit shots that we’re capable of making. Defensively, we’re right where we want to be.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.