Red Storm comes up short in preliminary playoff game
Red Storm comes up short in preliminary playoff game
By Emory Rounds
Staff writer
It was obvious that they were thinking about last time. And honestly, how could they not have been?
Almost exactly a year had passed since the Kennebunk Rams girls basketball team last played in a preliminary round game. Up by over ten points headed into the fourth period against the Bonny Eagle Scots, Kennebunk had let the lead slip away, only to lose in overtime.
And for some reason, on Tuesday night – this time against a quick and young Scarborough team in only their first class A playoff appearance – those memories nearly caused history to repeat itself. Kennebunk led 28-17 headed into the fourth period, but with barely two minutes left, that advantage had been trimmed down to a narrow 30-28 margin and the Red Storm had the ball.
The Rams, who had played strongly for three full quarters, were suddenly a bundle of nerves. Nothing was falling for Kennebunk; poorly-dribbled and badly-passed balls were going out of bounds or into the hands of Scarborough players, and a Red Storm (8-11) team that had been muted and unimpressive for three periods had suddenly come alive. Lightning was on the verge of striking the Rams twice.
“The first thing that came into my mind was last year’s playoff game,” said Kennebunk senior guard Jenna Nagy. “I thought we were going to have bad outcome like that again and I just wanted to step up and show everybody around that Kennebunk can get farther than the prelims.”
And that’s exactly what the Rams (10-9) did in their 36-30 victory on Feb. 13 – they proved that they can and do deserve to play at the next level. And when things looked their bleakest, Kennebunk’s biggest performers stepped up. As junior guard Sarah Bonenfant missed the shot that would have tied it all up, Nagy (13 points) reeled in the loose ball, then collided with Bonenfant in what would turn out to be the Scarborough guard’s fifth foul.
With Bonenfant – who had been huge in the Red Storm’s resurgence (she tied for a team-high eight points with freshman forward Christy Manning) – on the bench, Nagy began draining some of the biggest foul shots of her career, nailing five of six from the line in those last precious seconds. Junior guard Brooke Kravetz also tacked on a point from the line, assuring a Kennebunk match up against Biddeford on Feb. 15.
“This was absolutely high school girls basketball,” said Kennebunk head coach Rob Sullivan. “We’ve had some tough luck for the past few years in the prelims, and I tried to get the kids to build on that experience and use it in a positive. In the end, it may have come back and haunted them a bit.”
Although the Rams never trailed, Scarborough was also never really out of sight or out of mind. Kennebunk led 12-6 after the first period and played strong defense, forcing the Red Storm to put up low percentage shots from beyond the arc – not a one of which fell the entire night.
That is not to say that the Scarborough did not have their chances – the Rams gift-wrapped 10 foul shots for the Red Storm in the first half and Scarborough returned the favor, hitting just three. They trailed 19-11 at halftime.
“We beat them at our place a week and a half ago and we had to beat them to get in,” said Scarborough head coach Jim Seavey. “But the first time we saw them down here, we couldn’t put the ball in the hoop and that’s how it was for three quarters tonight, too.”
Both teams traded shots at the start of the third, although Scarborough kept things close, particularly with 6:23 remaining, when Bonenfant hit a lay up, followed a minute later by two more points when freshman guard Jenn Colpitts connected with a pair from the line. This kept things close at 23-15, although Nagy came right back following a Kennebunk time out and hit a lay up of her own. That seemed to temporarily snap the Rams out of their funk and Kennebunk led 28-19 entering the final eight.
In the fourth, the Rams suddenly seemed to realize that a win was a distinct possibility and began trying to find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. As Kennebunk struggled, Scarborough plowed forward, beginning their rally with just 3:29 remaining when junior guard Nicole Chaloux-Pinette grabbed a steal drove to the bucket, hitting the lay up, drawing the foul, and then cutting the lead to 30-24 with the extra point. Manning followed this up with another basket and then a pair of decisive free throws to make it 30-28.
Everything appeared to be going Scarborough’s way and then the Nagy and the Rams closed the door.
“Last year I looked at them at the end of the game and it was kind of like a deer in the headlights,” Sullivan said. “And this year I saw in their eyes that they weren’t going to let it happen again.”
By Emory Rounds
Staff writer
It was obvious that they were thinking about last time. And honestly, how could they not have been?
Almost exactly a year had passed since the Kennebunk Rams girls basketball team last played in a preliminary round game. Up by over ten points headed into the fourth period against the Bonny Eagle Scots, Kennebunk had let the lead slip away, only to lose in overtime.
And for some reason, on Tuesday night – this time against a quick and young Scarborough team in only their first class A playoff appearance – those memories nearly caused history to repeat itself. Kennebunk led 28-17 headed into the fourth period, but with barely two minutes left, that advantage had been trimmed down to a narrow 30-28 margin and the Red Storm had the ball.
The Rams, who had played strongly for three full quarters, were suddenly a bundle of nerves. Nothing was falling for Kennebunk; poorly-dribbled and badly-passed balls were going out of bounds or into the hands of Scarborough players, and a Red Storm (8-11) team that had been muted and unimpressive for three periods had suddenly come alive. Lightning was on the verge of striking the Rams twice.
“The first thing that came into my mind was last year’s playoff game,” said Kennebunk senior guard Jenna Nagy. “I thought we were going to have bad outcome like that again and I just wanted to step up and show everybody around that Kennebunk can get farther than the prelims.”
And that’s exactly what the Rams (10-9) did in their 36-30 victory on Feb. 13 – they proved that they can and do deserve to play at the next level. And when things looked their bleakest, Kennebunk’s biggest performers stepped up. As junior guard Sarah Bonenfant missed the shot that would have tied it all up, Nagy (13 points) reeled in the loose ball, then collided with Bonenfant in what would turn out to be the Scarborough guard’s fifth foul.
With Bonenfant – who had been huge in the Red Storm’s resurgence (she tied for a team-high eight points with freshman forward Christy Manning) – on the bench, Nagy began draining some of the biggest foul shots of her career, nailing five of six from the line in those last precious seconds. Junior guard Brooke Kravetz also tacked on a point from the line, assuring a Kennebunk match up against Biddeford on Feb. 15.
“This was absolutely high school girls basketball,” said Kennebunk head coach Rob Sullivan. “We’ve had some tough luck for the past few years in the prelims, and I tried to get the kids to build on that experience and use it in a positive. In the end, it may have come back and haunted them a bit.”
Although the Rams never trailed, Scarborough was also never really out of sight or out of mind. Kennebunk led 12-6 after the first period and played strong defense, forcing the Red Storm to put up low percentage shots from beyond the arc – not a one of which fell the entire night.
That is not to say that the Scarborough did not have their chances – the Rams gift-wrapped 10 foul shots for the Red Storm in the first half and Scarborough returned the favor, hitting just three. They trailed 19-11 at halftime.
“We beat them at our place a week and a half ago and we had to beat them to get in,” said Scarborough head coach Jim Seavey. “But the first time we saw them down here, we couldn’t put the ball in the hoop and that’s how it was for three quarters tonight, too.”
Both teams traded shots at the start of the third, although Scarborough kept things close, particularly with 6:23 remaining, when Bonenfant hit a lay up, followed a minute later by two more points when freshman guard Jenn Colpitts connected with a pair from the line. This kept things close at 23-15, although Nagy came right back following a Kennebunk time out and hit a lay up of her own. That seemed to temporarily snap the Rams out of their funk and Kennebunk led 28-19 entering the final eight.
In the fourth, the Rams suddenly seemed to realize that a win was a distinct possibility and began trying to find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. As Kennebunk struggled, Scarborough plowed forward, beginning their rally with just 3:29 remaining when junior guard Nicole Chaloux-Pinette grabbed a steal drove to the bucket, hitting the lay up, drawing the foul, and then cutting the lead to 30-24 with the extra point. Manning followed this up with another basket and then a pair of decisive free throws to make it 30-28.
Everything appeared to be going Scarborough’s way and then the Nagy and the Rams closed the door.
“Last year I looked at them at the end of the game and it was kind of like a deer in the headlights,” Sullivan said. “And this year I saw in their eyes that they weren’t going to let it happen again.”
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