WINDHAM—Every time it takes the floor, Cheverus’ girls basketball team, the reigning Class AA state champion, gets the best effort that the opposition can muster.

Especially when the Stags have to play on the road.

Friday evening, at Windham, Cheverus had to deal with its share of adversity, from the crowd to early foul trouble to a second half deficit, but in a most positive sign at this point of the season, the Stags managed to overcome and earn a key victory.

Which in turn, will help them avoid having to go on the road for the first round of the playoffs.

Cheverus started slowly as behind senior Stella Jarvais, the Eagles opened up a quick 6-1 lead, but inside the final minute, junior standout Kylie Lamson began to heat up with a 3-pointer and a layup from sophomore Abby Kelly gave the visitors a 9-7 advantage after one quarter.

The Stags ultimately embarked upon a 17-1 run and went up by 11 points, 18-7, but Windham roared back and closed the first half on a 17-5 surge of its own, as it scored the final 10 points and went into the break on top, 24-23, after two late Jarvais free throws.

When sophomore Denali Momot buried a 3 with just over 3 minutes to go in the third period, the Eagles had a 31-28 lead, but consecutive layups from Lamson and senior captain Rachel Feeley put Cheverus in front to stay and it held a 39-33 advantage heading to the final stanza.

There, Windham was within five when sophomore Addison Jordan scored on a crucial putback and that allowed the Stags to close the game on an 8-0 run and prevail, 52-39.

Lamson went off for 27 points, Jordan added 14 and Cheverus improved to 10-4 on the year, dropping the Eagles to 8-7 in the process.

“This is huge,” said Stags coach Billy Goodman. “It was a tough game. (Windham’s) a good team and they’ve beaten some good teams. My girls really stepped up. For them to do what they did, I’m really impressed. It really was a gut-check for us.”

Heart of a champion

Two days after Christmas, Cheverus hosted WIndham and prevailed, 61-41, as Lamson tied a program record with 36 points (a record she later eclipsed).

That proved to be the high point of the Stags’ season, however.

Prior to beating the Eagles, Cheverus downed visiting Deering (59-16), host Bonny Eagle (68-29), host Portland (59-36), visiting South Portland (57-47) and host Bangor (61-35). After the Windham game, the Stags were beaten by visiting Scarborough (47-44), as their two-year win streak ended at 27 games, at home by Edward Little (45-40), then at Gorham in a state game rematch (62-46). Cheverus got back on track with a 60-32 win at Thornton Academy, then held off visiting Sanford (61-51, as Lamson set the new program record with 40 points). Last Friday, the Stags fell at Oxford Hills (50-29), but Monday, they got back in the win column with a 48-25 victory at Deering.

As for Windham, it knocked off Lewiston in its opener (51-10) and after a 33-25 loss to reigning Class AA South champion Gorham, defeated Edward Little in a nail-biter (49-47) and Portland (44-23). After the loss at Cheverus, the Eagles dropped an overtime decision to Oxford Hills (40-36) before stunning previously undefeated Gorham late, 41-40. After losing to Bangor, 49-30, Windham upset host South Portland (35-33), then lost to Marshwood (62-32) before beating Scarborough (33-24), Falmouth (48-11) and Bangor (36-32). Tuesday, the Eagles dropped a 44-37 decision to Oxford Hills.

Friday, Windham hoped to snap an nine-game skid against Cheverus and beat the Stags for the first time since a 49-44 victory in the 2020 Class AA North quarterfinals, but instead, Cheverus refused to buckle in critical situations and earned a big dose of confidence as a result.

Neither team could get much going early as both squads turned the ball over multiple times.

Finally, with 6:25 to go in the first period, a putback from Jarvais broke the ice.

Junior Marley Jarvais then added two free throws for the Eagles before a foul shot from Kelly got Cheverus on the board.

With 3;31 to go in the opening stanza, Stella Jarvais’ putback made it 6-1 Windham, but 26 seconds later, Lamson found her range with a long 3 and with 42 seconds left, Lamson buried another 3 for the Stags’ first lead.

After Marley Jarvais tied the score with a free throw, Jordan fed Kelly for a layup with 3 seconds on the clock and Cheverus held a 9-7 advantage heading to the second period.

There, the Stags threatened to run away with it before the Eagles countered with a memorable run of their own.

Jordan started the frame with a driving layup, then Lamson made a layup after a steal and Feeley set up Lamson for a corner 3 to make it 16-7, forcing Windham coach Brody Artes to call timeout.

It didn’t help initially, as Kelly scored on a putback to cap a 17-1 run.

The Eagles finally answered on a long jumper from sophomore Bella Vassoler and after Jordan made a free throw, junior Addie Caiazzo buried a 3 from the corner to cut the deficit to 19-12.

Jordan answered with a driving layup, but Marley Jarvais drove for a layup of her own.

After Jordan fed Feeley for a layup with 2;55 to go before halftime, Windham surged and closed on a 10-0 run.

Another long jumper from Vassoler got things started, then Stella Jarvais set up Marley Jarvais for a 3 before Marley Jarvais found Vassoler for a 3 to cut the deficit to just one.

With 4.2 seconds on the clock, Stella Jarvais’ two foul shots capped the comeback and sent the Eagles to the break with a 24-23 lead.

Lamson paced all first half scorers with 11 points, while Marley Jarvais had eight points, five rebounds and three assists for Windham.

The game would remain tight in the third quarter.

The Stags retook the lead 17 seconds into the second half when junior Anna Goodman inbounded the ball to Jordan, who buried a 3.

After Momot got a point back at the line, Stella Jarvais tied the score with a free throw, but Jordan’s two foul shots put Cheverus up, 28-26.

Stella Jarvais countered with two free throws before Momot’s 3 made it 31-28 Windham.

The Eagles couldn’t hold on to the advantage, however, as Kelly sank two free throws, then with 1:57 on the clock, on the fastbreak, Jordan found Lamson for a layup and after the fifth lead change of the night, the Stags were in front to stay.

After a steal from junior Rachel LaSalle, Feeley made a layup, then after another LaSalle steal, Lamson’s layup stretched the lead to five.

“Our defense was really good and it turned into offense,” said Lamson. “Steals led to easy layups and we kept going from there.”

A free throw from sophomore Mackenzie Delewski snapped the 8-0 run, but Lamson scored on a contested jumper before Stella Jarvais and Jordan traded late free throws, sending the Stags to the fourth period up by six, 39-33.

Cheverus immediately looked to deliver the knockout blow, as Jordan set up Lamson for a pretty reverse layup, then with 6:22 to go, Kelly found Lamson for a 3 to make it an 11-point game, 44-33.

“It took me awhile tonight,” Lamson said. “I was really nervous at the beginning, but once I got (a 3-pointer), I knew I just had to get going. I was open and I had to shoot them.”

But Windham had one last run in it, as Stella Jarvais converted an old-fashioned three-point play (putback, foul, free throw) to snap the Stags’ 16-2 run, then Caiazzo sank a 3 in transition and just like that, an 11-point deficit had been cut to five.

When the Eagles appeared to get a defensive stop on a Cheverus missed shot, they were on the brink of pulling within one possession, but instead, Jordan fought for and won the offensive rebound and laid the ball in to make it 46-39 with 5:09 to go.

“We had to get gritty and get rebounds,” said Jordan. “They were getting too many rebounds. I knew I had to rebound and put it back.”

The Stags then closed it out, as Lamson pulled up for a dagger 3-pointer, Jordan hit a free throw and two more foul shots from Lamson brought the curtain down on the 52-39 victory.

“I would definitely say it was a big win for us,” Lamson said. “There was lots of adversity. The gym was full and it’s a tough gym to play in.”

“Our defense brought us energy and once we got energy from the defense, we could pick it up on offense,” Jordan said. “We just had to keep working and play our game. ”

“Our struggle has been scoring, but the girls kept fighting and I can’t believe how great they played,” Billy Goodman added. “This is a whole new team from last year and tonight, they stepped up in a big way. We gained confidence and experience tonight against a very good team.”

Lamson couldn’t quite match her points production of the teams’ first meeting, but still led all scorers with 27, while adding three steals.

“I’ve asked Kylie to let the game come to her,” Billy Goodman said. “As the game came to her, she made good decisions.”

Jordan put forth another solid performance of 14 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.

” I can coach a lot of things, but I can’t coach (Addison’s) heart and her will to never give up and to keep fighting is amazing,” Billy Goodman said. “She got some great rebounds and played really tough against Stella.”

Kelly added seven points, nine rebounds and three steals and Feeley had four points before fouling out.

LaSalle didn’t score, but had five steals and three assists.

“Rachel went to another level tonight,” Billy Goodman said. “She does a lot of things to help the team win and tonight, she came up big.”

Cheverus made 10-of-15 free throws and only turned the ball over 11 times.

For Windham, Stella Jarvais led the way with 13 points, to go with nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Marley Jarvais added eight points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

Vassoler finished with seven points, Caiazzo had six, Monot four and Delewski one.

The Eagles out-rebounded the Stags, 30-25, but made just 12-of-21 foul shots and turned the ball over 27 times.

“I thought we battled hard and the kids played well like they have all year,” said Artes. “We just had a couple scoring droughts and they had a run to put us away. I thought we did a good job on Lamson in the first half, but she’s very good. She took us down in the second half. She put them on her back. Their other players know their roles well. They executed as a five-some very, very well. We couldn’t really hit shots when we needed to. There were a lot of swings where we missed an opportunity to score and they went down and scored.”

Two weeks left

The regular season is winding down and both squads have several pivotal games to come.

Windham (now ranked third in the Class AA North Heal Points standings) returns to action next Friday at Scarborough. The Eagles close with a home game versus Falmouth and a trip to Deering.

“We’ve played well against Cheverus, Bangor, Oxford Hills and Edward Little and we’ve beaten two out of four of those teams,” said Artes. “We have the homestretch coming up. It’s about us building momentum heading into the playoffs. The kids have confidence that they can beat anybody. It’s just about coming out and making shots and taking care of the basketball. We know we can defend. If we take care of business, we’ll be in a good spot. The kids are excited about the playoffs coming up. We can end up 2, we can end up 5. We can beat anybody and we can lose to anybody. It’s going to be exciting.”

Cheverus (ranked second behind Oxford Hills in Class AA North) has a huge week coming up, as it goes to Scarborough and South Portland. The Stags close with home games versus Lewiston and Portland.

“We just have to keep our heads down and keep working,” said Jordan. “We just have to be tough and remember to stay calm. We have to get better on defense and keep conditioning and be ready for these last games. They’re like playoff games for us.”

“All of us want to win,” Lamson said. “We have to play good defense, get steals, get rebounds, not turn the ball over.”

“We’ve told the girls, the (Windham, Scarborough and South Portland) games are playoff games,” Billy Goodman added. “We have to keep building on this.”

BOX SCORE

Cheverus 52 Windham 39

C- 9 14 16 13- 52
W- 7 17 9 6- 39

C- Lamson 10-2-27, Jordan 4-5-14, Kelly 2-3-7, Feeley 2-0-4

W- S. Jarvais 3-7-13, M. Jarvais 2-3-8, Vassoler 3-0-7, Caiazzo 2-0-6, Momot 1-1-4, M. Delewski 0-1-1

3-pointers:
C (6) Lamson 5, Jordan
W (5) Caiazzo 2, M. Jarvais, Momot, Vassoler

Turnovers:
C- 11
W- 27

Free throws
C: 10-15
W: 12-21

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

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