YORK – On a night when points were at a premium, the York girls’ basketball team picked the right time to have its best stretch of offense.
Freshman Shannon Todd shook off a cold shooting night to score six points in the final three minutes, and York outscored Greely 10-0 in the final 3:33 Monday night to take an early season Class B showdown, 39-34.
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“I just told everyone at halftime that you just have to breathe and relax and it will come to us,” said York senior Emily Campbell. Campbell, a 6-foot-1 inside-outside threat, kept York going through the second and third quarters and hit the go-ahead basket after Marquis MacGlashing (five points, six blocks) kicked out an offensive rebound.
Todd hit four straight free throws to nail down the win. Todd was 1 for 11 from the floor through three quarters and had already picked up her fourth foul.
“She joked with me at halftime and I said, ‘hey, keep on shooting them. They’ll go in if you keep putting them up,” York Coach Rick Clark said of Todd. “I have every confidence in her.”
York improved to 2-0. Greely is 1-1. The last time the teams met was when Greely ended York’s undefeated season in the Western Class B semifinals in February, also halting York’s three-year reign as regional champion.
Campbell, who hit three 3-pointers, was the only player in double figures.
For Greely, Jaclyn Storey had nine points, and Ashley Storey and Abby Nielson each finished with eight.
Greely went scoreless in the first quarter but got loose in transition against York’s full-court pressure in the second quarter and stifled the Wildcats with a matchup zone. The Rangers led 16-14 at the half.
A smooth elbow jumper by Ashley Storey and a strong left-to-right pull-up by Jaclyn Storey early in the third pushed the lead to 20-14.
“If we can control the defensive boards and get out and run we’ll be successful,” Greely Coach Joel Rogers said.
York responded, with MacGlashing bulling to the basket and Campbell making a step-back 3-pointer and then a driving layup from the wing in a 10-0 run.
Nielson set up baskets by Margaret Hatch and Blaise Tardif and scored two of her own as Greely retook a 34-29 lead with less than four minutes left.
The lead slipped away in part because Greely missed the front end of three straight one-and-one chances in the fourth quarter. The Rangers were 4 of 11 from the line.
“I learned a lot tonight, that I’ve got the horses and I can go nine deep,” said Rogers, who noted that as a first-year coach he’s had just 12 practices with his team. “We’re going to be tough.”
Clark agreed and understood the value of Monday’s win.
“Coming in, I think both teams realized the importance of an early game like this,” Clark said. “Whoever won this game will get the other team’s Heal points for the rest of the season. Every time Greely wins, we get points. I think they’ll win a few. I think they’ll win quite a few.”
Staff Writer Steve Craig can be contacted at 791-6413 or at:
scraig@mainetoday.com
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