Girls Basketball: Gorham falls to South Portland in season-opener

GORHAM — Gorham girls stumbled mid-game vs. visiting South Portland on Friday night, Dec. 6. Despite leading the Riots through the first quarter and matching them point for point through the fourth, the Rams ultimately succumbed 60-44.

“The ball just didn’t move enough,” Gorham head coach Laughn Berthiaume said. “We’re trying to play where the ball moves a lot quicker, and it just didn’t. When we stand around, we’re going to have a hard time scoring. We really need to do a better job of moving on offense – that’s it.”

South Portland tallied the first four points; Gorham’s Olivia Michaud – she finished the night with a team-high 17 – then put her girls on the board with a two, and one from the line. Fellow Ram Adele Nadeau followed up with a steal and a three for a 6-4 Gorham lead.

The Riots retook the upper-hand at 8-6 on Maggie Whitmore and Ashlee Aceto twos, but Jacqui Hamilton with a two and Nadeau – with a thrilling, buzzer-beater three – put Gorham on top again 11-8 heading into the second.

“We do have a good mix,” Berthiaume said of his lineup’s ability to score. “It’s just going to be a matter of getting some repetition.”

South Portland dominated the middle quarters, essentially securing victory during the stretch. The Riots outpaced Gorham 20-7 in the second – Maggie Degifico added six – and 10-4 in the third, when Whitmore added seven.

“We’ve got five sophomores that are playing, only one senior, ,” Berthiaume said. “The kids are young. It’s something we’re going to build; I’m confident this group can get there. The good part is, we’re not here talking about effort and energy. Those things are there, and if effort and energy’s there, those teambuilding things we’ve got to work on, those things’ll come.”

The Rams recovered their footing for the final eight minutes, during which time they doubled their tally, from 22 to 44. Michaud kicked in nine of those, Lauren Fotter three, Brylee Bishop four, Nadeau three and Hamilton three. But South Portland also put up 22 in the fourth, and thereby cruised to victory 60-44.

Gorham opens the winter at 0-1; the Rams traveled to Oxford Hills on Tuesday, Dec. 10, losing 74-59.