YARMOUTH—Yarmouth’s girls basketball team unveiled a secret weapon Tuesday evening at Stroud Gymnasium.

And in the process, continued to surge.

Hosting Lake Region, the Clippers started slowly, surrendering the game’s first five points and the Lakers held a 14-9 advantage after one quarter.

Yarmouth then came to life behind the defense of sophomore Rory Tompkins, who had five first half steals and tied the score at 22-22 with a late 3.

Midway through the third period, the Clippers took their first lead of the game on a layup from sophomore Fiona John and after sophomore Lucy Belesca put home a miss at the horn, Yarmouth was up, 34-31, heading for the final stanza.

There, freshman Kate Geary entered the game and after Lake Region pulled within one, Geary made a layup, then drained a clutch 3-pointer to produce a little breathing room and the Clippers went on to a 41-34 victory.

Yarmouth won its third consecutive contest, evened its record at 6-6 and in the process, dropped the Lakers to 6-8.

“(Kate’s) been getting great JV minutes, so we’ve seen her skill and talent and a role she could play,” said Clippers coach Tom Panozzo. “We know she can get hot and be a good player and she did that tonight.”

Figuring it out

Both teams are in the hunt for a playoff spot in Class B South.

Yarmouth began with a 41-34 home loss to York, then defeated host Cape Elizabeth (37-14). After a 55-50 overtime setback at Lake Region, the Clippers handled visiting Waynflete, 38-12. After losses to visiting Spruce Mountain (40-24) and host Oceanside (56-19), Yarmouth knocked off visiting Cape Elizabeth (46-25). Losses at Wells (56-37) and Medomak Valley (41-18) were followed by victories over visiting Freeport (35-34) and host Poland (43-39).

Lake Region burst out of the gate with wins over Cape Elizabeth (46-33), Mountain Valley (41-29), Yarmouth (55-50, in overtime) and Fryeburg Academy (51-40), but the Lakers were then vanquished by Medomak Valley (48-39), Gray-New Gloucester (52-34), Spruce Mountain (53-40) and York (52-41). After getting back in the win column against Cape Elizabeth (45-27), Lake Region lost to Poland (55-42), Wells (63-30) and Wells a second time (41-36) before downing Waynflete Saturday (49-21).

In the teams’ first meeting, Dec. 17 in Naples, senior Taylor Oranellas’ 3-point prayer at the horn pulled Yarmouth even and forced overtime, but the Lakers eventually prevailed behind 14 points from senior Bella Smith. Tompkins led the Clippers with 11 points.

Tuesday, in the second game of a boy-girl doubleheader on a night where the legacy of the late Gibson Harnett and his non-profit foundation, “Time to Compete,” were honored, Yarmouth saved its best for last to stay red-hot.

Lake Region senior Bella Smith whips a pass past Yarmouth sophomore Rory Tompkins early in the Clippers’ 41-34 victory Tuesday. Hoffer photos.

Smith opened the scoring with a 3-pointer 26 seconds in, then sophomore Helena Sheldrick drove for a layup, but in a microcosm of its season, Yarmouth settled in and gradually got better.

A free throw from sophomore Marian Pitney broke the ice, then John made a foul shot before Pitney went coast-to-coast for a layup and the Clippers’ first field goal, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

Smith answered with another 3, but Pitney sank two free throws.

After senior Jordan Blanton banked home a shot for the Lakers, sophomore Giselle Jabar made a free throw, then Tompkins stole the ball and banked in a shot to make it a one-point game again.

Late in the frame, sophomore Ella Gibbons made a layup after a steal and Smith’s bank shot put Lake Region in front, 14-9.

Yarmouth started the second period quickly and drew even, as senior captain Julia Brown made a layup while being fouled and added the and-one free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play before a Pitney putback made it 14-14, forcing Lakers coach Doug Banks to call timeout.

Lake Region went back in front as senior Margo Tremblay banked home a 3, but Belesca found John for a layup and after Tremblay fed Blanton for a layup off an inbounds set, Pitney converted a three-point play to tie the score again, 19-19.

With 1::23 to go in the half, Smith made another 3, but 13 seconds later, Tompkins took a pass from sophomore Evangeline Hagerty and made a 3 of her own to forge a 22-22 draw at the break.

Smith had 11 points to lead the Lakers, while Pitney scored 10 for the Clippers.

The teams would go back-and-forth in the third quarter.

Lake Region junior Alison Bourgoin gets past Yarmouth sophomore Giselle Jabar.

Smith opened the third period with a pair of free throws, but Tompkins countered with a driving layup.

After Blanton scored on a contested bank shot, Jabar and Smith traded free throws and with 4:08 left in the frame, another Tompkins layup after a steal tied the score for the fifth time, 27-27.

Then, 13 seconds later, after a steal from junior captain Molly Vickers, John’s layup gave the Clippers their first lead.

Smith put Lake Region back in front with a three-point play, but Hagerty set up Belesca for a layup.

After Tremblay tied the score with a free throw, a Pitney foul shot with 12.3 seconds left in the quarter put Yarmouth in front to stay.

Then, just before the horn, Jabar missed a shot, but Belesca put home the rebound and the Clippers took a 34-31 advantage to the fourth period.

Where they turned to an unlikely source to help close it out.

After Gibbons made two free throws 37 seconds in to cut the deficit to one, Jabar stole the ball, got it to Tompkins and Tompkins passed ahead to an open Geary, who laid the ball up and in to make it 36-33 with 4:17 on the clock.

“I was nervous, but I tried to be as confident as I can,” Geary said. “I was thinking, ‘Please don’t miss this, Kate.'”

The next time down the floor, Jabar got an offensive rebound and sent the ball out to an open Geary behind the 3-point stripe and Geary confidently buried the shot to push the lead to six.

“I practice shooting as much as I can,” Geary said. “I just went out and shot and trusted my shooting ability. I’m just trying to prove myself so I can be out there. I was just trying to keep the lead for my team. I was just glad we were up.”

“Kate’s brought a lot to our team,” Brown said. “Having someone come in as a freshman who can keep their composure was something we needed. That’s boosted our morale even more.”

Smith got a point back at the line, but the visitors wouldn’t score again.

With 45.4 seconds to go, Jabar hit two free throws and the Clippers were able to run out the clock from there and celebrate their 41-34 victory.

Yarmouth players celebrate at the final horn.

“We started off the season with a rough stretch, but I think we’ve worked hard and have come together,” Brown said. “We’ve bonded and we’ve been able to put that together on the court.”

“The girls are playing with the composure they can handle and deserve,” said Panozzo. “It was difficult earlier in the season, but we knew we were playing top teams. We had a couple good quarters in those games and we tried to focus on that. This shows their maturity and confidence to be composed. Lake Region’s a tough team. They’re big and athletic and can disrupt shots. We learned what we could in the first half and played hard in the second.”

Pitney led Yarmouth with 11 points. She also had three rebounds. Tompkins nearly had a double-double, producing nine points and nine steals. Geary had five points in her limited action. John added five points, Belesca (five rebounds) and Jabar (six rebounds, five steals, two assists) had four apiece and Brown finished with three (to go with four rebounds and two blocked shots).

The Clippers overcame 23 turnovers and 11-of-21 foul shooting.

For Lake Region, Smith led the way with a game-high 18 points. Blanton added six points and nine rebounds, Gibbons (four steals, three assists) and Tremblay (six rebounds, three steals, two assists) both had four points and Sheldrick contributed two points, five rebounds and two steals before fouling out.

The Lakers had a 34-27 rebounding advantage, but made just 8-of-17 free throws and committed 26 costly turnovers.

“We have young kids,” Banks said. “We’re fundamentally not strong and we’re not confident. We don’t have that comeback mentality. I think we just have to keep it light and keep their confidence up.”

February nears

Both teams have work to do in terms of qualifying for the tournament and finishing as high as possible.

Lake Region (now ranked 10th in the Class B South Heal Points standings) hosts York next Tuesday.

Yarmouth (seventh in Class B South) goes to Fryeburg Academy Friday, then visits Gray-New Gloucester Tuesday of next week.

“I think if we keep playing how we are now, I think we can do great,” said Brown.

“We want to keep playing solid defense and being composed on the offensive side,” Panozzo said. “Do what we do in practice basically. You can see the high end of our play. If we can stay consistent, who knows what might happen in the playoffs.”

BOX SCORE

Yarmouth 41 Lake Region 34

LR- 14 8 9 3- 34
Y- 9 13 12 7- 41

LR- Smith 5-5-18, Blanton 3-0-6, Gibbons 1-2-4, Tremblay 1-1-4, Sheldrick 1-0-2

Y- Pitney 3-5-11, R. Tompkins 4-0-9, Geary 2-0-5, John 2-1-5, Belesca 2-0-4, G. Jabar 0-4-4, Brown 1-1-3

3-pointers:
LR (4) Smith 3, Tremblay
Y (2) Geary, R. Tompkins

Turnovers:
LR- 26
Y- 23

Free throws
LR: 8-17
Y: 11-21

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