BOOTHBAY HARBOR — It’s less than two weeks into the regular season, but the Monmouth Academy and Boothbay girls’ basketball teams played like it was the middle of February.
“That was playoff-type basketball,” Monmouth Academy Coach Scott Wing said after his team fell short Monday night in a 50-47 loss.
Glory Blethen, a 6-foot-1 freshman, scored 19 points to lead Boothbay in a matchup between two of the top two teams in Class C South.
Last season, the Mustangs edged Boothbay 36-34 in the regional semifinals on their way to winning the state championship. The year before, Boothbay beat Monmouth 39-30 in the semifinals en route to a regional title.
Many of the players who contributed to those playoff runs were on the court Monday, and the game took on a postseason atmosphere.
“Typically, Boothbay comes out smoking right off the bat, and they did,” Wing said. “I was very proud of how the girls fought back, digging back in.”
Blethen scored nine consecutive points to help propel the Seahawks into an 11-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
It was 17-7 at the end of the first quarter, but the Mustangs rallied behind junior guard Julia Johnson, who scored eight of her 11 points during the second quarter. Monmouth (2-1) twice closed to within one during the final three minutes of the half, but Page Brown’s fast-break layup just before the buzzer gave Boothbay (3-0) a 29-26 halftime lead.
Monmouth then started the second half by making five of its first seven shots to grab a 38-33 advantage, but the Seahawks tightened up on defense and the visitors missed their next seven shots. Boothbay finished the quarter with a 7-0 run to move back in front, 40-38.
The score was tied twice in the fourth quarter before Blethen made her third 3-pointer of the game to put the Seahawks ahead 48-45. Destiny Clough and Tia Day each made a free throw for Monmouth, but Faith Blethen – Glory’s older sister – went coast to coast after a defensive rebound to score with 12 seconds left.
“What you saw unfold tonight was how it happens here every time we play Monmouth,” Boothbay Coach Brian Blethen said. “We get a little jump on them, and they make their way back because they are such a tough team, then we battle it out to the end.
“Monmouth makes us better.”
Brown finished with 14 points. Day led the Mustangs with 19 points.
“I’m very proud of how the girls played and how resilient they were,” Blethen said.
“Monmouth is always a challenge for us, and these kids just never gave up. They played 32 minutes.”
“I was happy with the game overall,” Wing said, “but someone has to win and somebody has to lose.”
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