Sierra Wallace had a quarter of basketball that players dream of, where every shot goes in and the fans cheer your name.
The Morse High School junior made her first five shots on Tuesday, scoring 12 points as the Shipbuilders jumped ahead early and downed rival Mt. Ararat, 41- 25 in Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference girls action inside the Bath Middle School gymnasium.
“We talked about having the intensity early, realizing that we are pretty evenly matched with Mt. Ararat,” said Morse coach Becky Roak. “Sierra Wallace came out with a bang. She really hadn’t put up the points yet this year. We have seen it at the end of the season last year against Brunswick. She set the tone for us.”
Wallace tried to remember a time when she shot the ball as well as she did in the opening frame.
“Maybe in middle school,” said Wallace, who finished with a game-high 17 points. “It felt good. I have played with many of those girls over there. The start helped us. We knew if we started good that our game would be good. If we can keep up our intensity, we can go far this year.”
For Andy Morris’ Eagles (0-6), it was a familiar story, with his team struggling to score points. Figure, after the 20-point opening frame, Mt. Ararat held Morse to just 21 points the rest of the way. But, the Eagles put up just eight second-half points.
“We didn’t score. Our defense might have been good, stopping them on four straight possessions in the third quarter, but you have to answer,” said Morris. “When you’re trying to chip away, you have to make some shots.”
Wallace early
Wallace showed what she had in store for Mt. Ararat right off the opening tip, taking a lead pass from Hope Faulkingham and hitting a short jumper for a 2-0 lead just two seconds into the game.
Leading 4- 0, Wallace drove to the basket for two points, then stepped outside and swished a 3-pointer for a 9- 0 Shipbuilders advantage.
Mae Winglass kept the Morse run going with a bucket as the Shipbuilders scored the game’s first 11 points before Kate Guerin put in her own miss to get the Eagles on the scoreboard.
After Marissa Parks scored for Morse, Wallace put home another shot, and closed the opening quarter with her second trey for a 20- 7 Shipbuilders advantage.
The opening frame was nearly perfect for Morse, other than a missed assignment that allowed Nikki Bradstreet to hit a 3-pointer. Roak immediately called a timeout.
“In transition, (Bradstreet) is so good at finding space and getting open, and we didn’t have her there and they needed to hear it,” said Roak.
Bradstreet swished her second trey to open the second quarter to get the Eagles to 20-10, but Wallace answered with a three-point play to restore her team’s 13- point edge.
Three times in the second frame Mt. Ararat cut its deficit to 10 points, the last coming on a pair of free throws by Lauren Labbay. Parks powered her way to the basket to close the half, with Morse leading 29-17.
The Shipbuilders shot 50 percent (11-of-22) in the first half and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Morse forced 17 Mt. Ararat turnovers.
Bradstreet had a teamhigh eight points at the break for the Eagles.
The third quarter turned into a battle of long possessions, with neither team attempting many shots through the first four minutes. A pair of free throws by Sabrina Paetow brought the Eagles to 29-19, but Mt. Ararat went 1-for-10 from the floor in the quarter and failed to cut into the Morse lead, with both teams scoring four points.
“We are confident defensively, and I knew we would be fine there, but a couple 3- pointers by Bradstreet and the game changes,” said Roak.
Mt. Ararat continued to miss shots in the final frame, making just one field goal and going 2-for-18 in the second half while scoring eight points. Wallace’s final bucket completed the Shipbuilders’ win.
Parks chipped in 10 points and five rebounds for Morse, while Faulkingham added six points and six boards.
Bradstreet paced Mt. Ararat with 10 points, while Katelyn Cox came off the Eagles bench and scored seven points and picked up two steals.
Morse 41, Mt. Ararat 25
| Mt. | Ararat | — 7 | 10 | 4 | 4 | — | 25 | |
| Morse | — | 20 | 9 | 4 | 8 | — | 41 |
Mt. Ararat — Kala Greenleaf 0-0-0, Nikki Bradstreet 3-2-10, Taylor Wienckowski 0-1-1, Sabrina Paetow 0-2-2, Kate Guerin 1-1-3, Theresa Breed 0-0-0, Katelyn Cox 3-1-7, Lauren Labbay 0-2-2, Caitlyn Smith 0-0- 0, Grace Liedman 0-0-0, Ashley Parker 0-0-0. Totals 7-9-25. Morse — Emma Gould 2-0-4, Mae Winglass 1-0-2, Sierra Wallace 7-1- 17, Hope Faulkingham 1-4-6, Marissa Parks 4-2-10, Maddy Mitchell 1-0-2, Isabella Monbouquette 0-0-0. Totals – 16-7-41. 3-point field goals — (MtA) Bradstreet 2; (Mo) Wallace 2. Records — Morse 2-4, Mt. Ararat 0- 6. Up next for the Eagles — Jan. 3 at home against Medomak Valley, 6 p.m. Up next for the Shipbuilders — Friday at Leavitt, 6:30 p.m.
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