SACO — The seventh-seeded Thornton Academy girls basketball team entered Wednesday night’s playoff game against No. 10 Marshwood eager to redeem itself from a devastating overtime loss in last year’s quarterfinal.
Coming from behind, the Trojans edged the Hawks 34-33, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Western Maine Class A playoffs.
“We didn’t panic. I am very proud of my team tonight,” TA coach Eric Marston said.
In a game that featured unrelenting defense and turnovers, the Trojans struggled in the beginning against Marshwood’s 2-2-1 full-court press, committing several early turnovers that resulted in easy buckets for the Hawks, who jumped out to an early 15-7 lead. Marston called two timeouts in the first quarter to try and settle his team down.
“Coach told us to just relax and play our game,” sophomore pointguard Kaitlyn McCrum said.
The Trojans’ woes continued throughout the first quarter, not only struggling to get the ball up the court but also to find shots.
In the second quarter, things improved as TA figured out how to beat the press, and Shaw started finding the bottom of the net. Trailing 17-11 with 2:04 left in the half, Shaw ”“ who had a game-high 19 points ”“ drilled a deep 3-pointer from the left wing, got a steal on the next Marshwood possession, and got the ball on a 2-on-1 fastbreak in which McCrum hit her in the lane for an easy layup.
The play cut the lead to one, and TA headed into the locker room on a 13-2 run, trailing 19-18.
“Whenever we needed a bucket or a stop, Olivia came up with it,” Marston said after the game.
Looking like a more relaxed team in the second half, TA handled the Marshwood pressure much better, taking the lead for the first time with 4:22 left in the third quarter and never trailing again.
TA held the Hawks to three points in the second and third quarters.
“Our 2-3 zone has really been effective these last few games. Teams don’t know what to do with it,” Shaw said.
Shaw also grabbed eight rebounds, made seven steals and hit two clutch 3-pointers. She also came through when the Trojans needed her on both ends of the floor.
“The last thing I wrote on the chalkboard tonight was ”˜big-time players make big-time plays in big games,’” Marston said. “Olivia certainly took that to heart.”
Marshwood would not go away quietly, and after a couple big stops, the Hawks made the game close again, cutting the lead to two with 1:15 left to play.
Junior forward Lauren Leskowski came off the bench and sparked the Trojans in the second half with key offensive rebounds and defensive stops, down the stretch. Freshman forward Ashley Howe also played a solid game on defense, disrupting Marshwood all night with persistent ball traps around the perimeter. She hit a clutch 3-pointer at the end of the first half, giving the Trojans a much-needed basket. TA has reached the Western Maine Class A quarterfinals for the second straight year, and will face No. 2 Deering in the quarterfinals Monday at 3:30 p.m. at the Portland Expo.
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