SOUTH BERWICK — It was a stunning reversal of fortune, and it came from somewhere out of the blue.
After all, with Sanford managing to put together opening quarters of three and six points against Marshwood, one wouldn’t have expected the Redskins to have a 24-point stanza stashed in their duffel bags.
Yet they had precisely that, and used it to vault to a 47-42 win over the Hawks, in an SMAA girls basketball contest, Monday.
Sanford erased what had been a 12-point first half deficit, and later saw its own nine-point lead melt away, before putting the victory away in the final minutes from the foul line.
“This helps boost morale,” said Sanford co-captain Lindsay Nolette, who contributed seven points, and made two key defensive stops in the final minute to help preserve the win. “Definitely. We’re looking way more forward to going in to our next game.”
To hear senior center Kate Nickerson tell it, all that the Sanford offense had been missing was its focus.
“We went into the locker room after the first half,” said Nickerson, “and realized that everyone needed to play their role even more. Come out and be aggressive.”
Trailing 18-9 at the break, the Redskins fashioned an 8-1 run that brought them within reach of the Hawks (3-4).
Then, with 3:12 remaining in the quarter, Nickerson scooped up a bounce pass from Nolette and tossed it in to cut the deficit to three, 24-21.
“When we started sharing the ball,” said Nolette, “and looking into the post, it helped a lot.”
Further assistance arrived from the outside, when Shae Riley began bombing in three pointers from the left wing.
Riley (game high 15 points) hit five treys in all, the first of which accounted for all of Sanford’s first quarter points.
The second pulled the Redskins into a 24-24 tie with 2:42 remaining in the quarter.
A third gave Sanford a 29-26 lead.
“It was a big boost for every one,” said Nickerson. “
(When) Shae gets it going and gets on fire, we all are. As long as we have the momentum, we do well.”
Sanford rode that surge to a 39-30 advantage with 6:21 left in the game after Riley hit two more treys, then watched as Marshwood scored nine straight points over the next 1:58.
The Redskins, however, eased to the win by outscoring Marshwood 8-2 in the final minutes, with six of their points coming on free throws.
“This is a big win,” said Sanford coach Kristy Parent. “We’re starting a portion of our season where we feel we’ll be more successful than we have been so far.”
Sanford will host Noble tonight.
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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