So much for playoff jitters. In their postseason debuts, the freshmen on the Biddeford girls basketball team appeared tournament tested.
Mia Mariello scored 16 points, classmates Natalia Silva and Gabriella Silva added 12 and 11, respectively, and No. 4 Biddeford defeated No. 5 Wells, 56-41, in a Class B South quarterfinal Saturday at the Portland Expo.
It’s the first trip to this stage for Biddeford since 2010, when the Tigers reached the Western Class A semifinals.
“”I’m extremely proud of this group,” Biddeford coach Jeannine Paradis said. “They’ve worked hard all season long, and they deserve to be here.”
The Tigers (14-5) overcame 18 points and nine rebounds from Megyn Mertens, and 15 points from Maren Maxon.
How they did it
• Mariello picked a great time to catch fire. After Mertens brought Wells (14-5) within a point at 33-32 with 3:20 left in the third quarter on a pair of free throws, Mariello connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch Biddeford’s lead to 39-32. She added a layup on the next possession, giving her 10 points for the quarter.
“I thought to myself, if we lose this game, then we’re never going to (all) play together again, I won’t have my seniors,” Mariello said. “So I just used that energy and put it into my game and put everything on the court.”
• After a good shooting performance in the first half — 10 for 21, including six 3-pointers — Wells went 1 for 12 from the field in the third quarter, allowing a 27-26 halftime lead to turn into a 41-32 deficit.
• The youth came through. With Anna Smyth and Jordyn Crump adding eight and seven points, respectively, all but two of Biddeford’s points came from freshmen and sophomores.
“We’ve played together for years,” Gabriella Silva said, “and we’ve played in big-time tournaments in AAU. … We’ve played big teams, that doesn’t really scare us.”
Awaited victory
• For Paradis, a 1994 Biddeford alum, helping the Tigers end their semifinal drought was an emotional accomplishment.
“It gives me great pride to be able to lead this group into the tournament, and for them to come on top and get by a quarterfinal,” said Paradis, whose team went 0-18 two years ago. “It is a full-circle feeling. These seniors were here for that season, and they have been here to help turn that around while embracing the youth that we have.”
They said it
• “This is probably one of the best (games) we’ve played this season. It just is an amazing feeling, especially considering we haven’t been to a semifinal in years.” — Gabriella Silva
• “We got the unlucky draw of getting probably the best team in the (region) for our first game, even though they’re a four seed. We just said we need to believe. … I’m just proud of how our girls were able to shock some people a little bit (early).” — Wells coach Sandi McPadden
• “She is such a force. Her personality, the style she plays, the way she talks on defense, her leadership. She is such an invaluable player.” — McPadden on Mertens, who had 14 points in the first half
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.