PORTLAND—To get where it wants to go, South Portland’s girls basketball team had to get through a longtime nemesis.

Mission accomplished.

Wednesday evening at the Cross Insurance Arena, the top-ranked Red Riots yet again found No. 5 Scarborough standing in its way as the rivals did battle in a Class AA South semifinal.

But unlike years past, South Portland came in confident, took the fight to the Red Storm and this time, came out on top.

The Red Riots embarked an 8-0 first quarter run to hold a 12-10 advantage after eight minutes and with Scarborough up by three, 17-14, midway through the second period, South Portland roared to life.

After junior Destiny Peter, who was unstoppable in the post, scored on a putback, dynamic sophomore point guard Annie Whitmore drained consecutive 3-pointers to put the Red Riots ahead to stay and after senior captain Emma Travis buried a 3 of her own, a driving, contested bank shot from Whitmore just before the horn produced a 27-17 halftime lead.

Senior Emerson Flaker helped the Red Storm stay within hailing distance with seven points in the third quarter, but a late 3 from Whitmore and an old-fashioned three-point play from Travis opened up a 40-26 advantage heading to the final stanza.

And there, while Scarborough found hard to the finish, the Red Riots were able to put the finishing touches on a therapeutic 46-37 victory.

Whitmore, Peter and Travis all finished in double figures as South Portland won its ninth game in a row, improved to 17-3, ended Scarborough’s season at 9-11 and in the process, advanced to take on No. 2 Gorham (16-4), the three-time reigning regional champion, in the Class AA South Final Saturday at 6 p.m., at the Cross Insurance Arena.

“I think it’s really important for the girls to believe they can do it,” said Red Riots’ first-year coach Brianne Maloney. “They came into this game with confidence. For them to get the win and getting over that hurdle encourages them moving forward.”

A rite of winter

It seems like Scarborough and South Portland do battle every year in the tournament and while the teams took different roads this winter, another showdown was inevitable.

The Red Storm started with a 54-14 victory at Bonny Eagle, then downed visiting Portland (48-31), before dropping a 51-32 decision at South Portland. After a 53-35 win at Thornton Academy, Scarborough lost at home to Gorham in a regional final rematch (43-32), then fell at Sanford (54-52) before upsetting Cheverus (47-44). Following that win, the Red Storm lost at home to South Portland (47-25), beat host Falmouth (69-25) and visiting Noble (40-7), then suffered setbacks at Windham (33-24) and at home to Bangor (60-52). After a 51-20 home victory over Massabesic, Scarborough lost at Gorham (31-26), at home to Cheverus (56-42) and Windham (51-46) and at Edward Little (54-23) before closing with a 59-30 home victory over Falmouth.

In last Wednesday’s quarterfinal round, the Red Storm won at No. 4 Thornton Academy, 52-44.

The Red Riots, meanwhile, opened with wins over host Noble (51-19) and Lewiston (63-29), then defeated visiting Scarborough (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 clicked, beating visiting Thornton Academy (58-27), host Deering (58-35), Gorham (52-33), visiting Massabesic (55-18), visiting Cheverus (59-47), visiting Portland (58-23) and host Gorham in the finale, 46-40, to earn the top seed in the region.

Last Wednesday, in the quarterfinals, South Portland dominated No. 8 Noble, 66-12.

The Red Riots won both regular season meetings, downing the visiting Red Storm, 51-32, Dec. 13 (sophomore Mya Lawrence had a game-high 15 points) and taking a 47-25 decision Jan. 2 in Scarborough (as Travis and Whitmore each scored 11 points).

The Red Storm had won seven of eight prior playoff meetings, with last year’s 36-31 semifinal round victory the most recent.

Wednesday, Scarborough gave South Portland another test, but this time around, the Red Riots simply wouldn’t be denied as they took a step closer to their ultimate goal.

Unlike a year ago, when South Portland got buried early, it had a solid first quarter.

A layup by junior Caleigh Corcoran, off a feed from Travis, opened the scoring and after senior Ellie Rumelhart made a layup after a steal for Scarborough, Whitmore scored her first points, on a leaner, for a 4-2 lead.

The Red Storm then held the Red Riots scoreless for over three minutes and went back in front thanks to two free throws from freshman Ella Herzberg and a 3-ball from sophomore Eva Alvarez.

South Portland then embarked on its first run, an 8-0 surge, as Peter hit a short jumper in the lane, Whitmore scored on a putback for the lead, Whitmore set up Corcoran on the fast break for a layup, then a bank shot from Travis made it 12-7.

Alvarez hit a late 3 for Scarborough to cut the deficit to two.

The Red Storm then went back on top early in the second period, as senior Isabel Freedman banked home a shot in traffic and junior Avery Bastian drained a 3 from the corner to make it 15-12.

Peter got two points back on a putback, but a runner from senior Megan Rumelhart made it 17-14 Scarborough.

That proved to be the Red Storm’s highwater mark, as the final 13 points of the half went to the Red Riots.

A Peter putback started the surge.

“It’s very exciting to be able to get the ball and put it in,” Peter said. “It gets my teammates and coaches excited.”

Then, with 3:19 to go, Lawrence set up Whitmore for a 3 and a lead that wouldn’t be relinquished.

A mere 33 seconds later, in transition, Whitmore got a pass from Travis and drained another 3.

“Going into those shots, I told myself they’d go in and I just stepped up and shot them with confidence,” Whitmore said.

“We know we have players who can knock down shots,” Maloney said. “That first (3 of Annie’s) that went in, you could see the momentum and that pushed our offense in the right direction.”

Travis then got in on the long-range fun with 2:02 to, as after Peter kept possession alive with an offensive rebound, she passed to Travis, who drained a 3, forcing Scarborough coach Mike Giordano to call timeout.

It didn’t help, as the Red Storm couldn’t counter and as time expired, Whitmore drove through traffic and somehow banked home a shot to extend the lead to 27-17 at halftime.

“Those 3s from Annie boosted our confidence, then I came down and hit one and Destiny was rebounding,” Travis said. “It all led to good things.”

Whitmore led the way in the first half with 12 points and three assists, while Peter had six points and nine rebounds (with seven coming on the offensive glass).

South Portland didn’t let up when the third quarter commenced, but Flaker did everything she could to keep Scarborough within hailing distance.

A jumper from Travis got the half started, but Flaker countered with a 3, ending the Red Riots’ 15-0 run and a 6 minute, 6 second scoring drought.

After Whitmore set up Lawrence for a 3, Flaker drove for a layup.

At the other end, Whitmore found Corcoran for a layup, but a Flaker driving bank shot cut the deficit to 34-24 midway through the frame.

Alvarez added a layup, but again, the Red Riots finished the quarter in style, as Travis set up Whitmore for a 3, then Corcoran passed to Travis, who drove for a layup, was fouled and added the free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play and a 40-26 advantage heading to the final stanza.

Peter began the fourth quarter with a layup and after Freedman made two foul shots, Lawrence set up Corcoran for a layup to make it 44-28 with 5:54 to go.

Alvarez countered with a leaner for Scarborough, but with 4:19 on the clock, Peter scored on a putback for South Portland’s final points.

To their credit, the Red Storm battled to the end, getting two free throws from Flaker, a 3-ball from Alvarez and a runner from Herzberg, but at 8:56 p.m., the final horn sounded and the Red Riots had finally solved Scarborough, 46-37.

“The mindset was we weren’t given anything and we knew we had to earn it,” said Travis. “It’s a game of runs. You just have to be the team with more runs. It’s awesome. We haven’t done it in years, so it’s a whole new step we’re taking as a team.”

“For the last two years they’ve beaten us, so I felt like this is definitely our year,” Peter said. “We put it in our minds we could beat Scarborough and we put that out on the court and we beat them.”

“It feels really good,” said Whitmore. “We were very confident coming into the game since we beat them twice this season.  Our defense wasn’t the best tonight, but we got it done.”

“We try to keep things pretty routine,” added Maloney. “The girls like routine. We talked before the game that it’s a different location, but it was just a game of basketball. Just a normal game.”

South Portland got a game-high 15 points from Whitmore, who also contributed five assists and five rebounds.

Peter was sensational, producing a double-double of 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, with 11 coming on the offensive end.

“I think I went in there and I knew I needed to get the ball and I wasn’t going to let anyone stop me from getting the ball,” Peter said. “My teammates encouraged me and that helped me get all the rebounds I got.”

“We’re super-proud of (Destiny),” Whitmore said. “She kept going and went up strong.”

“We continue to build (Destiny) up and tell her how good she is,” added Maloney. “I think there are times she doesn’t get the recognition she deserves, but the girls know she’s a huge piece to the success we’ve had. She’s consistent on the glass.”

Travis, the steady, determined captain, was solid as well with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.

“There was a moment out there where (Emma) got frustrated, but we called a timeout and I reminded her that she’s the senior out there and this is her moment,” Maloney said. “She deserves everything she gets. She’s earned it.”

Corcoran added eight points, seven rebounds and two steals and Lawrence finished with three points, seven rebounds and two assists.

“It takes a team,” said Travis. “All five of us and our bench and their energy as well.”

The Red Riots dominated on the glass (44 rebounds to 23) and overcame 1-of-5 foul shooting and 18 turnovers.

Not quite enough

For Scarborough, Alvarez who is one of the league’s most promising young players, led the way with 13 points.

Flaker, a generational defender, bowed out with nine points, six rebounds and seven steals.

“She showed herself offensively tonight,” Giordano said, of Flaker. “She didn’t want her season to end. She has a huge heart. You can’t replace a kid like that.”

Freedman and Herzberg each scored four points, Bastian had three and Ellie Rumelhart (five steals, four rebounds) and Megan Rumelhart both had two points in their final game.

The Red Storm made all six free throw attempts and only turned the ball over nine times, but couldn’t quite produce enough offense to spring the upset.

“We couldn’t get shots to go and they did,” Giordano lamented. “That (second quarter) run was the difference in the game. I’m stubborn with my timeouts. I probably should have burned one there. They’re just so big and physical. It was the worst matchup we could have had. They’re 17-3 for a reason. They’ve handled everybody in the South. It’s the third time they’ve beaten us. My hat’s off to them, but our kids battled.”

Scarborough graduates Flaker, Freedman and both Rumelharts, but the likes of Alvarez, Bastian, Herzberg and junior Helena Bukarac made up a solid young nucleus for the 2025-26 team, which will likely make another deep playoff run.

“I just thanked the seniors,” said Giordano. “Four years in a row down here for that class and we played for two (regional) championships. They had a heck of a run. I challenged the underclassmen to match that. We have a lot of kids with regular season experience and playoff experience. We’ll be back.”

Golden opportunity

South Portland swept Gorham during the regular season and is 1-3 all-time versus the Rams in the tournament, with a 45-30 win in the 2020 semifinals the most recent result.

Gorham had to battle to pull away in the fourth quarter and down No. 3 Sanford, 47-36, in  its semifinal.

The Rams have an abundance of big-game experience, but the Red Riots like what they bring to the table as they hope to reach the state final for just the second time this century.

While a win won’t come easily, confidence will be high when the ball is tipped Saturday night.

“It’s just another game, but it’s a game we have to win,” said Travis. “We just need to make sure we’re locked in and focused in practice and remind ourselves it’s another game. The hoop’s the same size. It doesn’t need to be any different. It’s super-exciting. I just want to keep it rolling.”

“Everything starts with the energy in our practice,” Peter said. “We take in drills that the coaches put on us. We use those drills to get better. That correlates on to the court in the games. I think we need to lock in. We know we can beat any team. I’m very excited for Saturday.”

“I think we just we have to watch film and see what we did against them before,” Whitmore said. “I’m feeling pretty good.”

“We’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing all season, sticking to the basics, making sure we’re prepped and ready to go,” added Maloney. “The girls are really focused. We’ll just preach to them to stay focused on the next game.”

BOX SCORE

South Portland 46 Scarborough 37

S-  10 7 9 11- 37
SP- 12 15 13 6- 46

S- Alvarez 5-0-13, Flaker 3-2-9, Freedman 1-2-4, Herzberg 1-2-4, Bastian 1-0-3, E. Rumelhart 1-0-2, M. Rumelhart 1-0-2

SP- Whitmore 6-0-15, Peter 5-0-10, Travis 4-1-10, Corcoran 4-0-8, Lawrence 1-0-3

3-pointers
S (5) Alvarez 3, Bastian, Flaker
SP (5) Whitmore 3, Lawrence, Travis

Turnovers:
S- 9
SP- 18

Free throws
S: 6-6
SP: 1-5

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