Turnovers put Raiders in a big hole, again

FALMOUTH 59

Ally Hickey 5-5-17, Maddie Inlow 5-1-11, Anna Hickey 1-8-10, Dayna Vasconcelos 2-6-10, Jessica Burton 2-0-4, Molly Ryan 1-1-3, Erica Pugsley 0-1-1, Emma Powers 0-1-1. Totals: 17-23-59. 3-pointers: A. Hickey 2. FT 23-43. Turnovers: 14.

RAIDERS 49

Skye Dole 7-9-23, Sydney Charles 2-2-6, Lexi L’Heureux-Carland 3-0-6, Julia Quinn 1-0-2, Kendra Fox 2-4-8, Sarah Welch 1-2-4, Ellen Bacchiocchi, Makayla Frost. Totals: 16-17-49. 3-pointers: 0. FT 17-24. Turnovers: 36. Rebounds: Dole 12, Fox 7, Welch 2, Bacchiocchi 4, Charles 7, L’Heureux-Carland 4.

 

By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

FRYEBURG — For Coach Sean Watson, two stats told the story as to why his Raiders girls’ basketball team just quite couldn’t get over the hump against Falmouth.

36, as in turnovers against the Yachtsmen’s press — 12 in the opening eight minutes, which FA scored just 4 points and 11 in the second quarter.

43, the number of times Falmouth went to the foul line, compared to the Raiders’ 24. Fortunately, the Yachtsmen were 3-of-12 in the first quarter, but they improved in the second half, connecting on 16-of-22, which ultimately kept Fryeburg from inching back into the contest.

Despite 17-second half points by junior center Skye Dole, the Raiders fell short in their comeback attempt, 59-49 to drop to 0-2 on the season. Dole led all scorers with 23 points and hauled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

“We had 20-plus turnovers in the first half, which makes it tough for us to compete,” FA Coach Sean Watson said. “A positive is that our girls competed from the beginning to the end of the game.”

Watson added that the Raiders struggled against Falmouth’s zone, “something that really shouldn’t happen.”

“We need to do a better job recognizing it, reversing the ball and breaking it down,” he said.

Falmouth was able to break FA pressure most of the night with quick passes down the sidelines, often resulting in lay-ups or foul calls.

“They (Falmouth) are well coached and athletic,” Coach Watson said. “When we do press under the right circumstances, we need to trap quicker.”

Falmouth started quick as Ally Hickey (17 points) drained a 3-pointer to put the Yacht up 7-2. FA managed just two hoops — an inside score by Dole and a lay-up by Sydney Charles (6 points, 7 rebounds).

“We’d like to get the ball in the paint. Our kids are pretty unselfish and do a good job moving the ball to find the better shot,” Coach Watson said. “Sometimes, you do try to make the extra pass instead of taking a good shot, and ultimately turn the ball over.”

Down 14-4, the Raiders developed a little momentum early in the second with a 7-0 run as freshman forward Lexi L’Heureux-Carland connected on two offensive rebounds. But, Fryeburg would scored just 4 points over the final four minutes as Falmouth pushed the lead to 27-15.

Sinking 7-of-8 foul shots, Falmouth widened its lead to 17 with 3:15 left in the third quarter. FA’s Sarah Welch scored 4 straight points and freshman Julia Quinn knocked down a jumpshot with 1:24 left to cut the deficit to 40-30.

FA had a scare in the closing minute when Dole went down just over halfcourt, clutching her knee. Fortunately, she walked back to the bench, and would return to the line-up two minutes later.

Dole kept the Raiders in striking range, scoring her team’s first 6 points of the fourth. She would net 12 of the Raiders’ 19 points.

But, Fryeburg simply couldn’t put the defensive hammer down on Falmouth to make a late run. Falmouth’s Dayna Vasconcelos scored 7 points, including two lay-ups as the Yachtsmen used their quickness to break the Raider press.

Two Dole foul shots with 42.6 seconds left cut the deficit to nine, but the Raiders would get no closer.

Admittedly, the Raiders are a work in progress and will continue to struggle at times against the press, but Coach Watson remains extremely pleased with the effort players put forth — be it in practice or late in games.

“We’re going to keep working at it,” Coach Watson said.

Bad start hurts

With an inexperienced backcourt, FA Coach Sean Watson knows his Raiders will struggle against a good press.

York’s heat was too much for the Raiders to handle on opening night as the Wildcats forced 11 turnovers in the first eight minutes and rushed out to a 24-2 lead.

Fryeburg played better, cutting their turnover numbers per quarter in half the rest of the way, but the Raiders were unable to recover, losing 52-38.

FA turned the ball over 30 times.

Center Skye Dole netted a game-high 23 points to go along with 16 rebounds and two assists.

Guard Kendra Fox played all 32 minutes produced a stat line of 4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Lexi L’Heureux-Carland chipped in 2 points and 4 rebounds, while Ellen Bacchiocchi had 3 steals.

Other scorers were: Sydney Charles 4, Julia Quinn 2 and Sarah Welch 3 points.

“I’m proud of the way the girls competed,” Coach Watson said. “York is a fantastic team and the girls never backed down, never quit and narrowed the gap at every interval after the first period.”

Scoring by periods:

FA 2  11  15  10 — 38

Y 24  10  13  5   — 52

The Raiders shot 32% from the floor (16 of 50) and 55% from the foul line (6 of 11).

Cribby and Todd were the lone Wildcat players to reach double figures with 14 and 12 points respectively. The Cats had eight players in the scoring column.

Up next: The Raiders host Greely on Saturday at 7 p.m. JV open at 5:30 p.m. FA then faces a four game road stretch, beginning Wednesday, Dec. 19 at Poland (6 p.m.) and Friday, Dec. 21 at Yarmouth (6:30 p.m.).