SOUTH PORTLAND—South Portland’s girls basketball team is coming of age.
Is it ever.
Friday evening at Beal Gymnasium, hosting the reigning state champion Cheverus Stags, the Red Riots had an extremely frustrating first half, shooting less than 20 percent from the floor and falling behind, 21-15, at the break.
And then came the second half.
And a breakthrough that might just propel the team to glory in a month’s time.
South Portland nearly doubled its first half points production with a 26-point third period, as sophomore Mya Lawrence scored 10 points, and the Red Riots got the job at both ends, going up by as many as 11 points before unheralded Cheverus freshman reserve Holly Irazhoza improbably banked home a 3 at the horn to cut the deficit to 41-33.
The Stags twice drew within six in the fourth quarter, but the Red Riots didn’t buckle and thanks to stellar performances from senior captain Emma Travis, juniors Caleigh Corcoran, Stella Henderson and Destiny Peter and sophomore Annie Whitmore, they did enough to pull away and prevail, 59-47.
Lawrence led a balanced attack with 15 points, four different South Portland players wound up in double figures and the Red Riots improved to 13-3 while dropping Cheverus to 11-5 in the process.
“It’s huge for us,” said Travis. “I hadn’t beaten them. No one in the program had done it. It’s super-big to know we’re moving in the right direction. There was a little fire to it, but it’s just another game and we had to remind ourselves to do what we do best.”
Tournament atmosphere arrives early
Cheverus and South Portland both entertain championship dreams and despite a few hiccups, have demonstrated that they have the pieces in place for a deep run.
Cheverus opened by downing visiting Deering (59-16), host Bonny Eagle (68-29), host Portland (59-36), visiting South Portland (57-47), host Bangor (61-35) and visiting Windham (61-41). After a 47-44 home loss to Scarborough, the Stags lost at home to 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). After a loss at Oxford Hills (50-29), the Stags got back in the win column with a 48-25 victory at Deering, then held off host Windham, 52-39. before avenging an earlier loss with Tuesday’s 56-42 win at Scarborough.
The Red Riots, meanwhile, under new coach Brianne Maloney, opened with wins over host Noble (51-19) and Lewiston (63-29), then defeated visiting Scarborough in a playoff rematch (51-32). After a 57-47 setback at Cheverus, South Portland bounced back and knocked off visiting Sanford (56-44), host Bonny Eagle (63-16), visiting Deering (58-27), host Scarborough (47-25) and host Portland (53-30) before losing at home to Windham (35-33) and Oxford Hills (34-29). The Red Riots then regrouped and defeated visiting Thornton Academy (58-27) and host Deering (58-35) before handling visiting Gorham with surprising ease (52-33) and rolling over host Massabesic (55-18).
In the teams’ first meeting, Dec. 17 in Portland, junior Kylie Lamson’s 26 points were the difference in the Stags’ victory. Travis paced South Portland with 12 points.
Friday, in front of a large and vocal crowd, the Stags sought their fifth straight win in the series, but instead, the Red Riots beat Cheverus for the first time since Jan. 14, 2020 (56-37 in Portland) and the first time at Beal Gymnasium since Feb. 7, 2019 (58-24).

South Portland senior Emma Travis is guarded by Cheverus junior Anna Goodman, left, and sophomore Maddy Nalls during the Red Riots’ 59-47 victory Friday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald photos.
The Stags opened the scoring just 23 seconds in, as senior captain Rachel Feeley knocked down a 3-pointer, from junior Anna Goodman.
Sophomore Abby Kelly then took a feed from Feeley and made a layup.
With 5:25 left in the opening stanza, Peter got South Portland on the board, taking a pass from Whitmore and making a layup, but Lamson countered with her first points, banking home a difficult shot with her left hand.
After Corcoran knocked down a jumper, sophomore Addison Jordan threw a touchdown pass ahead to Lamson for an easy layup.
The Red Riots then crept back within one, as Peter was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound and knocked down both free throws, then Corcoran scored on a putback.
With 54 seconds left in the frame, Lamson was called for her second foul and while Cheverus held a 9-8 lead at the start of the second period, Lamson had to sit.

Cheverus sophomore Maddy Nalls drives to the basket between South Portland senior Emma Travis, left, and sophomore Annie Whitmore.
Lamson’s absence didn’t hurt the Stags, in this instance, as sophomore Maddy Nalls knocked down two free throws and while Travis scored on a leaner, the Red Riots couldn’t take the lead.
Lamson returned with 5:03 left before halftime and Cheverus got a little breathing room.
Just 11 seconds after checking back in, Lamson took a pass from Kelly and buried a 3.
After Jordan scored on a putback, Henderson came off the bench and got a jumper to rattle home, but Jordan sank two free throws, Kelly did the same, then Feeley hit a foul shot.
The Stags appeared to have all the momentum until Whitmore took a pass from Travis and drained South Portland’s first 3-pointer with 41 seconds to go, pulling the Red Riots within a manageable six points, 21-15, at the break.
The Red Riots were a brutal 6-of-34 from the floor in the first half, but were still very much in the game and they would come out an entirely different, more efficient squad in the third quarter.

South Portland sophomore Annie Whitmore makes a move to the basket as Cheverus sophomore Abby Kelly defends.
A minute into the second half, Travis took a pass from Lawrence and made a layup, while drawing Lamson’s third foul.
Travis missed the ensuing free throw, but Lamson had to sit for over three minutes and this time, the Red Riots took advantage.
The next time down the floor, Travis fed Lawrence for a 3 and with 6:02 on the clock, Whitmore found Peter for a fastbreak layup and just like that, South Portland had the lead for the first time, and for good, 22-21.
After another defensive stop, Whitmore again fed Peter for a layup, forcing Cheverus coach Billy Goodman to call timeout.
It helped, as Jordan was fouled and made a free throw to end the Red Riots’ 12-0 run and a 4 minute, 25 second scoring drought, but Lawrence answered at the other end with a jump shot.
After Irahoza got a runner to drop, Whitmore made a 3 for a 29-24 lead.
Peter was then whistled for her fourth foul and Lamson returned to action with 3:38 left, but in her absence, South Portland had gone on a 12-3 run.
Jordan made it a one-possession game with a driving left-handed layup, but Travis set up Lawrence for a 3, then Lawrence drove for a layup and her ninth and 10th points of the frame to make it 34-26.
“We’ve believed in Mya since the beginning of the season,” Maloney said. “We saw bits of it last year. We try to encourage her and put her in spaces where she can succeed. We want to highlight her strengths.”
Nalls got two points back with a runner, but Travis sank two foul shots.
After Lamson hit a pair of free throws, Whitmore found Travis for a 3, then after a Travis block on the defensive end, Travis took a pass from Whitmore and made a layup to stretch the lead to 11.
What was nearly a perfect quarter for the Red Riots didn’t end in style, however, as Whitmore picked up her third foul and after nearly forcing a turnover, South Portland had to watch as Irahoza’s prayer at the horn from well beyond the 3-point arc hit the backboard, the rim, the backboard again, then fell through the net to make the score 41-33 heading to the final stanza.
Despite the frustrating final seconds, the Red Riots outscored the Stags, 26-12, and didn’t commit a single turnover in the frame.
“We got hyped for each other and we came out in the third quarter and showed them we wanted it more,” Whitmore said. “Our coaches were telling us we could beat them down the floor. We did that and made good, crisp passes to the post players who were running. It was a team effort all around. I feel like our defense held them in a tough position where they couldn’t get anything going. We got our offense going with our defense.”
“We’ve seen (offensive struggles) before and made the mistake of not getting to the rim and we’ve learned from those games,” Maloney said. “We had to switch up our offensive mindset. We talked at halftime about getting to the basket. It allowed kick-outs to the corner and dumps down inside and put them in foul trouble. Our message was to box out. I feel like our transition game is really strong, but we can’t transition if we don’t box out and rebound. In the second half, we got rebounds and hit people in transition and got easy shots. We’ve talked about defense leading to offense for us.”
South Portland then turned aside Cheverus’ bid to rally in the fourth.
Jordan fed Kelly for a layup to start the final stanza, but Whitmore drained a long 3 to answer.
After Irahoza buried a long 3-ball, Peter converted an old-fashioned three-point play (putback, foul, free throw).
With 5:17 left, after the Red Riots’ first turnover of the second half, Lamson took a pass from Feeley and made a 3 to cut the deficit to 47-41, but that’s as close as the Stags would get.
After Peter fouled out, South Portland got some breathing room, as Corcoran grabbed an offensive rebound, then set up Travis for a layup.
“In-between quarters, Coach said, ‘Don’t let them gain momentum,'” Travis said. “We took that advice and that’s what we did.”
After Lawrence converted a three-point play, a runner from Whitmore rolled in with 2:45 remaining to stretch the lead to 54-41.
Kelly answered with a layup, but Lawrence hit two clutch free throws.
After Feeley made two foul shots for Cheverus, Henderson answered with one.
As time wound down, Feeley made a layup for the visitors, but Travis set up Corcoran for a layup to slam the door and the Red Riots closed out their 59-47 victory.
“We were settling for shots in the beginning and we were standing around, but second half, we did what we know how to do, drive and kick and find the open shooter,” Travis said. “It all comes from our defense. If we play really good defense, the offense will come. We got into transition and that fed into it.”
“This feels really good,” said Whitmore. “I think we played a lot of team basketball tonight. This is so big for us. I’m so glad we pulled it out tonight.”
“I’m happy with how tonight went,” Maloney added. “I think it means a lot to the girls. I wanted them to play their best. A win obviously makes them feel a lot better. It’s great to have these big games at the end of the season. To experience a playoff atmosphere in front of a packed gym. All that energy gives us a good look forward to what February will bring.”
Lawrence, who didn’t score a single point in the first half, led all scorers with 15 points. She also had six rebounds and a pair of steals.
Travis wound up with 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Peter, despite playing limited time due to fouls, had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Whitmore, who continues to emerge as one of the league’s special point guards, had 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Corcoran added six points and a game-high 10 rebounds and Henderson was strong off the bench with three points.
“We’ve come together,” Maloney said. “It’s not just Emma stepping up now. We have Mya stepping up in big times. Annie stepping up in big moments. Caleigh doing the little things. We’re having five come together and play a complete game.”
South Portland enjoyed a 40-28 advantage on the glass, made 9-of-11 free throws and overcame 15 turnovers.
For Cheverus, Lamson had a team-high dozen points, but that was 14 fewer than she produced in the teams’ first encounter.
Feeley added eight points, as did Irahoza and Kelly. Jordan finished with seven points (to go with seven rebounds, five steals and three assists) and Nalls had four points.
The Stags made 12-of-15 free throws, but committed 16 turnovers.
“I think we didn’t play winning basketball in the third quarter,” Billy Goodman said. “Give (South Portland) credit, they made their shots. They deserved to win. We played well in the first half. If we had shots fall, it could have been a different game, but they didn’t. I had the right people shooting. It just didn’t go in tonight. We preach taking care of the basketball, not fouling and getting rebounds. Tonight, we didn’t do those things too well. That’s what we need to work on.”
One week left
The regular season is scheduled to conclude next Thursday. Both squads have two games left and are looking to secure the best possible seeding for the tournament.
Cheverus (which appears locked into the second spot behind Oxford Hills in the Class AA North standings) is home versus Lewiston Tuesday, then closes at home against Portland Thursday.
“This team has proved this year that every time we’ve had a setback, we’ve come back strong,” Billy Goodman said. “That’s what we look to do to get some momentum for the playoffs. I really think we’ll learn from this.”
South Portland (currently ranked first in the Class AA South Heal Points standings) plays its home finale versus Portland Tuesday, then finishes with a pivotal showdown at Gorham Thursday.
“There’s still a bunch more work to do to get better,” said Travis. “We need to communicate and we need to stop turning the ball over.”
“I think we need to keep focusing and having tough, good practices and stay locked in for the rest of the season,” Whitmore said.
“We have to take care of the next two,” Maloney added. “We’ve turned a little bit of a corner. We fixed mistakes we were making. We’ll keep focusing on the little things. We’re not trying to be fancy. We’re just trying to be well-rounded.”
BOX SCORE
South Portland 59 Cheverus 47
C- 9 12 12 14- 47
SP- 8 7 26 18- 59
C- Lamson 4-2-12, Feeley 2-3-8, Irahoza 3-0-8, Kelly 3-2-8, Jordan 2-3-7, Nalls 1-2-4
SP- Lawrence 5-3-15, Travis 5-2-13, Peter 4-3-11, Whitmore 4-0-11, Corcoran 3-0-6, Henderson 1-1-3
3-pointers:
C (5) Irahoza, Lamson 2, Feeley
SP (6) Whitmore 3, Lawrence 2, Travis
Turnovers:
C- 16
SP- 15
Free throws
C: 12- 15
SP: 9-11
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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