BOX SCORE
Cape Elizabeth 36 Waynflete 19
CE- 10 12 3 11- 36
W- 5 4 2 8- 19
CE- Manning 6-0-12, Supple 5-0-10, Conley 3-0-7, Ryer 2-0-4, Moore 1-0-2, Callahan 0-1-1
W- Connors 2-0-5, Hart 2-0-4, Mechtenberg 2-0-4, Wilson 2-0-4, Millspaugh 1-0-2
3-pointers:
CE (1) Conley 1
W (1) Connors 1
Turnovers:
CE- 13
W-20
FTs
CE: 1-7
W: 0-2
PORTLAND—Cape Elizabeth’s girls’ basketball team needed a boost of confidence and a trip to Waynflete was just what the doctor ordered for the Capers Tuesday afternoon.
Cape Elizabeth, which didn’t score a single first quarter point in a 40-point loss to Wells in the opener last Friday, got off to a quick start behind the inside dominance of junior captain Olivia Manning and held a 10-5 advantage after eight minutes.
Manning had a double-double in the first half alone as the Capers extended their lead to 22-9 at the break. Cape Elizabeth’s defense smothered the Flyers from there and the Capers went on to a 36-19 victory.
Manning led the way with 12 points and 22 rebounds and senior point guard and captain Emily Supple added 10 points as Cape Elizabeth evened its record at 1-1 and in the process, dropped Waynflete to 1-1.
“A win’s a win,” said Capers coach Chris Casterella. “It was nice to see some shots fall. We’re still a work in progress.”
Climbing back
Waynflete won just twice in 2019-20 and didn’t capture any of its eight contests last winter, so Friday’s 30-25 home victory over Sacopee Valley was certainly encouraging.
“That win was huge for confidence and it will help us out with Heal Points,” said Flyers coach Andrew Leach.
Cape Elizabeth was a quarterfinalist in 2019-20, then went 2-7 last season. The Capers faced the daunting task of hosting reigning Class B champion Wells in its opener Friday and lost, 58-18, after getting outscored, 23-2, in the first period.
The Capers and Flyers met twice in the 2019-20 season with Cape Elizabeth winning both, 37-20 at home and 42-17 in Portland.
Tuesday, the Flyers hoped to beat the Capers for the first time in almost a decade, since a 41-35 road win Jan. 4, 2012, but instead, Cape Elizabeth was in command virtually the whole way.
Manning, fittingly, broke the ice on a leaner 93 seconds into the contest.
Supple added a layup, but Waynflete senior captain Jesse Connors countered with a 3-point shot.
Manning then proved unstoppable on the glass, twice scoring on putbacks to give her team a little momentum. After sophomore captain Lucy Hart drove for a layup for the hosts, Supple answered with a layup for a 10-5 advantage after one quarter.
In the first eight minutes, Manning had six points and a whopping eight rebounds, including six on the offensive glass.
“In practice, we’ve worked on rebounding,” said Manning. “Last game, I realized I had to step it up rebounding and I kind of took out my anger from last game on this one.”
The Capers added to their lead in the second period.
Manning started the frame with a putback and after the Flyers got a long jump shot from sophomore Maeve Mechtenberg, junior Meghan Conley knocked down a jumper for the visitors, Manning scored on a putback, junior Ashley Ryer did the same and Conley made a jumper in the lane for a 20-7 advantage.
Waynflete ended the 8-0 run, as Connors set up senior Lolie Millspaugh for a layup, but pretty reverse layup from Supple made it 22-9 at the half.
Manning had 10 points and 13 rebounds in the first half alone and Supple added six points for Cape Elizabeth, which forced 12 turnovers in the first 16 minutes.
Neither team could do much of anything on offense in the third quarter, as junior Yenenesh Wilson made a leaner with 6:19 remaining for the Flyers, their last points of the frame, and the Capers got a putback from Manning and a free throw from sophomore Grace Callahn to make it 25-11 heading to the final stanza.
There, the offense returned, but Waynflete couldn’t make a run.
After Hart started the frame by getting a jumper to rattle home, Ryer scored on a putback, Conley knocked down a 3 and junior Juliet Moore made a jumper for a 32-13 Cape Elizabeth advantage with 6 minutes to go.
Connors countered with a jumper, but Supple drove for a layup.
After a leaner from Wilson, Supple made a nice stop-and-go move, then finished a layup before Mechtenberg’s jumper brought the curtain down on the Capers’ 36-19 victory.
“We didn’t go into (the Wells) game with a lot of confidence, so it’s good to come back and get a good win second game, score a lot of points and build up some confidence,” Supple said.
Manning had a superb effort, scoring 12 points, snaring 22 rebounds and also producing a steal and a blocked shot.
“Our rebounding was huge,” Supple said. “We were missing that in the Wells game on both ends of the court. That helped us in the scoring department.”
“I told Liv at halftime, ‘You’re imposing your will down there. Keep going for the rebounds,'” Casterella said. “She finished enough of them. She kept putting it back up, which is what we want her to do.”
Supple stuffed the stat sheet as well, scoring 10 points, grabbing six rebounds and adding three steals.
“Emily’s going to need to get to the basket,” Casterella said. “I think she can. We have to help her. When she gets to the hoop, she opens up shots for other people.”
Conley had seven points, Ryer four (to go with five boards and two steals), Moore two (to go with four rebounds and four steals) and Callahan one.
“We’re still working on offense and figuring out who can come off the bench and play,” Casterella said.
The Capers enjoyed a 48-40 rebounding advantage, only made 1 of 7 free throws and overcame 13 turnovers.
Waynflete’s top scorer was Connors, who had five points (to go with eight rebounds and two steals). Hart (six boards, three steals and two assists), Mechtenberg (three rebounds) and Wilson (four rebounds) all added four points, while Millspaugh had two (to go with four rebounds).
The Flyers missed their lone two free throws and turned the ball over 20 times.
“We knew who we had to watch, but you could tell they took that loss to Wells personally and they took it to us today,” Leach said.
Right back at it
Waynflete plays its first road game Thursday, going to Old Orchard Beach. The Flyers travel to Seacoast Christian Monday.
“I’m proud of the girls, but we have a long way to go,” Leach said. “We’ll get there, but it’s going to take some time. We have a good batch of seniors, a talented group. Our sophomores are playing a lot. Not everybody is a basketball player year-round, but it’s a group of great athletes and high character kids. We just need to go in the right direction. I’m excited for this week and to see what we can do against Old Orchard Beach.”
Cape Elizabeth returns home Friday to take on a talented York team.
“I feel like we just need more time to play together, then we’ll improve a lot more,” said Manning. “We have to build up our chemistry. We don’t have a huge bench. Communication is a big thing.”
“We need to work on transition,” Casterella said. “We have to get in shape and be able to go up and down. On offense, we have to work on tempo and timing. It’s a new group of kids. Last year was so odd with COVID. We have two new starters, Ashley and Juliet, who are doing a great job. We’re going to get battle-tested. Now we have to refocus because we’re going to see a super-athletic team in York that can push the ball.”
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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