Mt. Ararat forward Lauren Magno (51) dribbles the ball while being defended by Freeport guard Lindsay Routhier (22) on Saturday in Topsham. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
TOPSHAM — It wasn’t supposed to be this hard, especially with the Freepoårt High School girls basketball team holding a commanding 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter against Mt. Ararat on Saturday.
But, one thing about this year’s Eagles is that you can never count them out.
Mt. Ararat rallied to tie the game, only to see Falcons standout Caroline Smith drain a pair of late free throws for a 45-43 victory.
Freeport left Topsham with an 8-2 record, while the Eagles fell to 5-6.
“This says something about us. It is good to get the win in a tough environment,” said Freeport coach Seth Farrington, whose Falcons were coming off a home loss to undefeated Greely on Thursday. “Part of being a great team is that you have short-term memory. Now, it is about Cape Elizabeth (Tuesday, 7 p.m..).”
For Mt. Ararat, it was a game of just misses. The Eagles shot poorly from the field (13-of-56, 23 percent), but made up for it at the free-throw line by making 14-of-17, including 9-of-10 in the fourth quarter. On the other side, three missed front ends of 1-and-1s at the line hurt the Falcons and kept Mt. Ararat alive.
“One more basket, a foul call down the stretch, maybe it is different,” said Mt. Ararat coach Andy Morris, whose squad heads to Lincoln Academy on Thursday (6:30 p.m.). “Our locker room was down, but I told them how proud of them that I am for the way they played, the character they showed and the way they represented their town today.”
Things started well for the hosts as Mt. Ararat jumped out to 4-0 first-quarter lead. Theresa Breed scored all eight of her team’s points in the quarter, but Freeport found its offense, using an 11-1 run for a 15-8 lead through eight minutes.
The Eagles had trouble keeping up in the second as Smith scored four points to lead the Falcons to a 27-15 halftime lead.
A scary moment for Freeport occurred late in the frame when Smith hobbled to her bench. However, she returned for the second half.
“We were coming off that big loss, but we knew that we needed to put that one behind us,” said Smith, who added five points in the third quarter.
Mt. Ararat rally
Mt. Ararat’s Grace Liedman (10) tries to track down a loose ball during Saturday’s girls high school basketball game in Topsham. Looking on is Freeport’s Caroline Smith (20) and Mt. Ararat’s Theresa Breed. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
The hosts found their groove in the third quarter, leaning on Lauren Magno. The sophomore put up eight points in the frame, including back-to-back 3-pointers as Mt. Ararat clawed to within six, 36-30, after 24 minutes.
“We kept each other together and made some shots. I am proud of this team. We held it together,” said Breed, who scored a team-high 19 points. “We tend to be a second-half team. We realize what we are doing wrong, then ride the momentum. We knew that we had to keep it up, keep our heads up and believe this is our house.”
Freeport took control early in the fourth as Smith scored five consecutive points, with Rachel Wall answering a Breed bucket for a 43-32 Falcons advantage with 3:21 remaining.
Mt. Ararat refused to give up. Kyla Greenleaf swished a 3-pointer and Breed scored inside to close the gap to 43-37. After a Freeport turnover, Greenleaf made two at the charity stripe for a four-point game.
After Wall and Catriona Gould each missed at the line, Breed put back her own miss to get Mt. Ararat within two, 43-41.
Smith went to the free-throw line moments later and also missed, with Mt. Ararat grabbing the rebound. At the other end, Ainsley Bryant nailed a floater from the paint to tie the game.
Smith took over from there. On her way up the court, she was fouled. This time, she calmly sank both free throws for a 45-43 lead with 17.9-seconds remaining.
Mt. Ararat had another chance, but Breed’s short jumper missed, with Smith grabbing the rebound and dribbling out of danger as the buzzer sounded, giving the Falcons their eighth win.
“Foul trouble hurt us today, we lost Caroline for a short time where we expanded the lead, which was good to see, and in the fourth quarter we got what we wanted but missed three straight free throws, but in this type of environment, experience is important and (Caroline) settled us down there,” said Farrington after watching Smith finish with a game-high 23 points.
“I really thought we were going to win it, but Seth does a great job over there. Freeport is a good team,” Morris said. “They had a bit of turnover from last year, but the program is there and they reboot. I think we’re fairly deep, we just need to find someone that is consistent.”
“This win is big for us,” added Smith, who also had seven rebounds and dished out three assists. “We are young, and coming off a tough loss, you want to stop the bleeding. I don’t think any of us had played her before, so this is a big win.”
Mt. Ararat’s Theresa Breed (55) tries to stop Freeport’s Rachel Wall (40) from scoring in the first quarter of Saturday’s girls crossover basketball game in Topsham. Wall’s Falcons came away with a 45-43 victory. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
Wall chipped in 11 points despite being in foul trouble throughout the contest. She also had a team-high eight boards. Gould picked up four steals, Lindsay Routhier had seven rebounds and Hannah Groves had three assists.
Breed pulled in 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Magno had three steals and blocked a pair of shots for Mt. Ararat. Greenleaf dished out a pair of assists and split 18 points with Magno
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