KITTERY, Maine – Given the way his team dominated the first half, Traip Academy girls basketball coach Scott Blake didn’t envision his team would be in survival mode come the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s regular-season finale against St. Dominic.
It at least created an electric atmosphere for five Traip seniors to walk off their home court for a final time.
Traip’s 14-point halftime lead disappeared in the fourth quarter when the Saints tied the game at 46-46, but the Rangers responded with an 8-0 run and held on for a 54-51 victory in Class C South action.
“It was a little too close," Blake said. "I thought we played great in the first half, but defensively we let them get off some shots and we didn’t have that second player like we did in the first half. But we held our composure and it was a good win.”
Senior forwards Reilly Eddy (17 points, eight rebounds) and Cassidy Delano (14 points, nine rebounds) were honored before the game on senior night along with Kiley Chambers, Lola Moes, Claire Dodge, and exchange student Tezeta Aldaz.
“That’s the best I’ve felt on the court all year,” Delano said. “We had the hype from the fans, we had a great student section and everyone on the bench was excited and it heightened our game. The whole game, all I was focused on was winning. I didn’t care about our turnovers or anything; I just wanted to win.”
After 2-7 start to the season, the Rangers went 6-3 in the second half of the season to qualify for the Class C South tournament. No. 9 Traip (8-10) begins its postseason with next Tuesday’s first-round game at No. 8 Kents Hills (13-5).
“There was a lot of pressure at the end—only winning by three points—but I think we did good and kept our heads,” Eddy said. “We got a little rushed when they started pressing us, but we calmed down.”
The Rangers led 27-13 at halftime and led 36-23 midway through the third quarter, before St. Dominic went on a 9-0 run. A hoop by Mia-Angelina Leslie (15 points) brought the Saints within 38-34 entering the fourth.
Aldaz gave a Traip a 44-39 lead after a converted steal early in the fourth, but Caroline Gastonguay (22 points) hit a pair of buckets to tie the score at 46-46 with 5:09 remaining. Traip thenmade three free throws to take 49-46 lead with four minutes left.
The Rangers created a cushion after freshman Addy Hale’s transition pass to Delano, who then found Eddy in the paint for a layup. Freshman Kiki Huntress followed with a three-pointer from the corner to give Traip a 54-46 lead with 1:10 remaining.
“We’ve just worked hard all year. We played them in the first game of the season (a 48-45 Saints’ victory), but we didn’t have much experience with our freshman guards,” Eddy said. “We would not be the team we are without them. I’m so impressed with them and we’re more comfortable with our offense.”
“We’re usually more of a post team, but tonight they blocked us off, so we shot it from the outside and it work in our favor,” Delano said.
Trap still had to sweat it out after a pair of Leslie hoops brought St. Dominic within 54-51, and Skye Rogers was fouled attempting a three-pointer as time expired. Rogers missed the first foul shot to end the game.
Tenth-seeded St. Dominic (10-8) travels to No. 7 North Yarmouth (10-8) in the first round.
“After the first quarter, we played incredibly hard. Their Senior Night and their emotions being high; their energy level was higher than ours in the first quarter,” St. Dominic coach Chris Marston said. “But that’s a good team. They’re one of the hottest teams going into the tournament and they showed it tonight.
Delano scored nine of her points in a first quarter in which Traip made nine of 15 shots from the floor to take a 20-7 lead.
“We’ve been playing well and I think we can get that first prelim game,” Blake said. “We’re playing well and we’re a much different team than we were at the beginning of the season.”
RANGERS 54, SAINTS 51
ST. DOMINIC (51)
Rogers 4-0-8, Zimmerman 1-3-5, Mi. Leslie 6-3-15, Gastonguay 8-2-21, Stebbins 0-0-0, Kenney 1-0-2 . Totals: 20-8-51.
TRAIP (54)
Eddy 6-5-17, Dodge 1-0-2, Delano 5-4-14, Hale 1-2-4, Chambers 2-0-4, Aldaz 3-0-6, Huntress 2-0-6, Moes 0-1-1. Totals: 20-12-54.
St. Dominic 7 6 21 17—51
Traip 20 7 11 16—54
3-point goals—St. Dominic 3 (Gastonguay 3); Traip 2 (Huntress 2).