Both the Richmond and Monmouth girls high school basketball teams know each other well. The teams faced each other twice during the regular season, with the Mustangs taking both contests.
As for Thursday’s Class C South semifinal match at the Augusta Civic Center, with a berth in the regional final at stake, No. 2 Monmouth held court, fighting off the Bobcats for a 45-32 victory.
“They’re a good team. It wasn’t so much that we lost today, they just won it,” said Richmond senior Sydney Underhill-Tilton following the game. “They have so many weapons.”
Monmouth’s weapons seemed to be the talk of the game.
After defeating No. 3 Old Orchard Beach on Tuesday, Richmond knew it had its work cut out with those weapons, including Miss Basketball finalist Tia Day. While the Richmond defense held Day to just five points, it was Hannah Anderson and Abbey Allen’s offense, along with Destiny Clough’s rebounding game, that pushed Monmouth over the top.
Anderson and Allen combined for 26 points and Clough hauled in seven second-half boards to secure the victory.
The two teams played an even first quarter, trading baskets underneath, with Underhill-Tilton leading on the Richmond side, while Anderson and Day carried Monmouth, including a trey from Day that tied the game at 10.
Lindsie Irish broke the tie to open the second quarter with a basket from behind the arc. Julia Johnson hit a layup for Monmouth followed by an Allen basket, and the Mustangs began to roll. Monmouth went on an 11-0 run when all was said and done, leading 21-13 late in the half.
Allen registered 10 points in the second as Monmouth carried a 25-17 lead into the break.
“They have so many weapons,” said Richmond coach Mike Ladner. “We held Tia down, and a couple of their girls stepped up, kudos to them.”
Underhill-Tilton tallied eight first-half points, while grabbing six boards in the first 16 minutes.
Second half
Richmond began closing the gap in the third quarter — a pair of hoops by Underhill-Tilton and a trey late in the quarter pulled the Bobcats within two, 26-24 after three quarters, with Richmond holding Monmouth to only one point in the frame. The Mustangs went 0-for-6 from the field.
Monmouth’s Johnson hit a quick 3-point basket, and after a Bobcat miss, the Mustangs scored another hoop at the other end and it was a fast five points to open the fourth quarter for a 31-24 Monmouth lead.
“They hit that quick 3- pointer to start the fourth,” said Ladner. “We missed a shot and didn’t get back in transition and that was then a quick five points.”
From there, Monmouth (19-1) controlled the boards, boxing out the Richmond post players. Clough became a force underneath. The junior hauled in four fourth-quarter rebounds on the defensive end, taking away any second- or third-chance baskets for the Bobcats. Richmond has rebounded well this season, with some exceptions.
“That’s not typical of us, except against these guys,” said Ladner. “We’ve noticed when we play these guys, they do an amazing job boxing out.
“We were noticing that once the shot went up, they weren’t standing around watching, they get into position, crashing the boards. We have a tendency to sit back and watch the ball and it came back to bite us tonight.”
Monmouth kept Richmond (15-6) afar and pulled away for the 13-point victory.
Allen led Monmouth with 16 points, while Anderson chipped in with 10 and Johnson nine points. Clough finished with eight rebounds.
“They’re so good at the inside-out game, drawing us in and kicking it back out,” said Underhill-Tilton. “You’ve got to hand it to them, they’re never down. You can’t beat chemistry.”
As for Underhill-Tilton, her leadership and all the things she does on the court will be missed.
“This is my fourth year as the head coach and she’s been with me all four years,” said Ladner. “She’ll be missed, that’s for sure.”
To go with her game-high 17 points, Underhill-Tilton grabbed 13 boards. Irish ended with six points in the loss.
Despite the defeat, the Bobcats’ future looks good. As a program, they showed they can hang with the schools of the Mountain Valley Conference.
“We’ve got everybody coming back and we’re building a real strong program. This was the first year we went with a jayvee team, so the future looks good,” said Ladner.
Still, the loss of Thursday’s game will sting for a little while longer.
“We gave them a game tonight,” said Underhill- Tilton. “We at least wanted to do that, so we’ve got no reason to hang our heads.
No. 2 Monmouth 45, No. 6 Richmond 32
Class C South Girls Semifinal At the Augusta Civic Center
| Richmond | — | 10 | 7 | 7 | 8 | — | 32 | |
| Monmouth | — | 10 | 15 | 1 | 19 | — | 45 |
Richmond — Sydney Underhill-
Tilton 8-1-17, Lindsie Irish 2-0-6,
Caitlin Kendrick 0-2-2, Bryanne
Lancaster 2-0-5, Ashley Abbott 0-
0-0, Bryannah Shea 1-0-2. Totals
— 13-3-32.
Monmouth — Hannah Anderson
5-0-10, Abbey Allen 8-0-16, Destiny Clough 1-0-2, Abby Ferland 0-
0-0, Tia Day 1-2-5, Kaeti Butterfield
0-3-3, Audrey Fletcher 0-0-0, Julia
Johnson 3-1-9. Totals — 18-6-45.
3-point goals — (R) Irish 2, Lancaster, (M) Day, Johnson 2.
Records — Monmouth 19-1, Richmond 15-6.
Note — The Bobcats season has
ended.
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