The winter sports season is entering its most enjoyable phase, the postseason, and there will be a multitude of memories made in the days and weeks to come.

Basketball’s regular season culminates Thursday, a day after the girls’ hockey playoffs begin, and the big meets in other winter sports are getting closer as well.

Here’s an overview of how things stand and what’s to come:

Boys’ basketball

The biggest story of the week (and the season) involved Greely’s boys’ basketball team and its historic eight-overtime contest versus Fryeburg Academy last week (see story).

Falmouth entered Tuesday’s home tilt versus Westbrook as the top team in the Class A South Heal Points standings (see our website for game story). Last week, the Navigators improved to 12-4 by downing host Mt. Ararat (57-45) and visiting Biddeford (56-28). In the win over the Eagles, Chris Simonds had 21 points and Judd Armstrong and Paul Dilworth added 10 apiece. Against the Tigers, Simonds led the way with 22 points, while Armstrong added 14. Falmouth closes the regular season Thursday at Kennebunk.

Freeport was 4-13 and 11th in Class A South after a 74-49 setback at Gray-New Gloucester last week and Monday’s 52-48 loss at Greely. JT Pound had 10 points against the Patriots. In the loss to the Rangers, the Falcons’ ninth straight, Pound led the way with 16 points and Conner Smith added 15. Freeport closes at home versus Fryeburg Academy Wednesday.

In Class B South, defending state champion Yarmouth extended its win streak to nine games by downing visiting Cape Elizabeth (49-45) and Lake Region (53-45) last week and defeating host Wells (67-60) Monday. In the win over the Capers, Nate Hagdorn led the way with 15 points, Evan Hamm added 12 and Stevie Walsh finished with 10. Against the Lakers on Senior Night, the Clippers completed their home schedule without a loss, as Matt Gautreau had 16 points, Hamm added 13 and Walsh and Liam Hickey each finished with eight.

“We’ve been working hard all season,” said Hickey. “It’s our home court, we’ve practiced every day here since the start of the season and we know it like the back of our hand. It means a lot to us to win our final game here.”

“This just says that the guys are committed,” first-year Yarmouth coach Ilunga Mutombo said. “They love the concept of protecting their home floor. It’s the ‘Clipper Way.’ They play with a lot of pride. It was Senior Night, so we wanted to give all of the seniors more exposure. The guys channeled their energy. We intentionally played them the whole first quarter. We let them lead. It was awesome to see them play together. This was the culmination of all their years as brothers.”

In the win over the Warriors, Walsh had 24 points, Hamm added 12 and Hagedorn had 10. Yarmouth (first in the region in the Heals at press time) finishes at Poland Wednesday.

“I’m really not surprised we’re playing so well,” Mutombo said. “There’s such belief in the work that’s gone in to the past few years. We have tough practices and expect a lot out of each other. We want to peak at the right time and play consistent basketball.

“We know our region will be tough with some great teams. No matter who we draw, we’ll be ready. We created a championship mindset last year. We want to emulate that and find our own identity. Last year motivates us to keep pushing. We want to go as deep as we can.”

In Class C South, North Yarmouth Academy fell to 5-12 and 12th after a 60-45 setback at Old Orchard Beach and home losses to Traip Academy (67-62) and Monmouth Academy (49-26). Against the Seagulls, Cal Nice scored 15 points, Nate Oney added 12 and Colin Roderick had 11. In the loss to the Rangers, Moses Semuhoza scored 23 points, while Nice finished with 19. Against Monmouth Academy, Semuhoza had 10 points. The Panthers finish Wednesday at home against Sacopee Valley.

The boys’ basketball postseason begins next week with the preliminary round on the home courts of the higher seeds.

Girls’ basketball

On the girls’ side, NYA got some tough injury news last week, as nonpareil senior point guard Angel Huntsman suffered a knee injury in a recent win at Dirigo and will likely be unavailable for the postseason. On the floor, the Panthers fell from the unbeaten ranks last Tuesday with a 45-40 home loss to Old Orchard Beach despite a dozen points from Charlotte Harper-Cunningham. NYA bounced back with wins at Traip Academy (59-31) and Monmouth Academy (74-25). Against the Rangers, Graca Bila led the way with 17 points and Harper-Cunningham added 15. Against Monmouth, Sarah English had 19 points, Bila added 18, Ella Giguere had 13 and Madilyn Onorato finished with 10. The Panthers (16-1 and first in the Class C South Heal Points standings at press time) finish the regular season Wednesday at Sacopee Valley.

In Class A South, Freeport earned a historic victory Monday. First, the Falcons had their four-game win streak snapped last week, 51-35, by visiting Gray-New Gloucester. Emily Groves had 10 points in defeat. Monday, at home, the Falcons held off visiting Greely, 50-45, for their first win over the Rangers this century (perhaps ever). Maddie Cormier led the way with a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds as Freeport avenged an earlier overtime loss to Greely this winter.

“It feels so good,” Cormier said. “The best feeling in the world. Ever since our loss in overtime back at the beginning of the season, we’ve been really fueled that when we played them again, we were going to have a different outcome.”

“It’s just a huge win for the program,” Falcons coach Seth Farrington said. “(Greely’s) always going to be prepared, always going to be organized. We had to play well and just did enough.”

Farrington received a celebratory water bath from his players following the victory.

“It’s the best shower I’ve ever taken,” Farrington said.

The Falcons (9-8 and seventh in Class A South) finish the regular season Wednesday at Fryeburg Academy.

Falmouth was 10-6 and fifth in the region heading into Tuesday’s game at Westbrook. The Navigators lost at home to Mt. Ararat (63-57) and won at Biddeford (60-29) last week. Anna Turgeon scored 21 points against the Eagles. Falmouth closes at home versus Kennebunk Thursday.

Greely was 8-9 and sixth in Class A South after losses at Fryeburg Academy (50-35), at home to Wells (45-41) and at Freeport (50-45) and a 51-31 win at Poland. Against the Warriors, the Rangers erased a nine-point deficit and twice led in the fourth quarter before falling just short. Sophia Ippolito and Asja Kelman both scored 13 points and Cece Berthiaume added 11.

“We want to win and we did a lot of good things, but there were just too many miscues and that’s kind of been our thing,” lamented Rangers coach Todd Flaherty. “We clawed back and had a chance, but we were a rebound or a turnover away.”

In the loss to the Falcons, Ippolito had 11 points and Kelman added 10.

“I think we just made a couple of mistakes and went cold, and (we were) giving up too many free throws,” Flaherty said. “It wasn’t on the officials, that’s on us. We’re committing fouls, and not getting to the line ourselves.”

Greely closes the regular season at Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday (see our website for game story).

“We just want to finish strong and get in the tournament,” Flaherty said. “We don’t really care who we play, we just want to get in. We should go in loose, but we’ll have to make some shots.”

In Class B South, Yarmouth was 6-11 and seventh in the Heals following a 52-36 win at Cape Elizabeth and losses at Spruce Mountain (50-42) and at home to Lake Region (49-34) and Wells (54-49). Neena Panozzo scored 16 points and Maya Hagerty added 11 in the victory. Against the Phoenix, Panozzo led the way with 14 points. Against the Lakers, Panozzo had a team-high 12 points. In the loss to the Warriors, Yarmouth led much of the way but fell just short despite 19 points from Panozzo. The Clippers finish the regular season Wednesday at home against Poland.

Girls’ hockey

The girls’ hockey playoffs begin Wednesday with the quarterfinals on the home ice of the higher seeds.

Yarmouth/Freeport capped the best regular season in program history Monday with a 9-2 home victory over Portland/Deering to wind up 15-2-1, good for the top spot in the North Region. Rosie Panenka had a hat trick and added three assists. Adelaide Strout finished with two goals. Yarmouth/Freeport has a bye into the semifinals and will host that round against either No. 4 Brunswick (11-7) or No. 5 Mt. Ararat (11-7) either Friday or Saturday at Travis Roy Arena.

Greely finished 0-18 after an 8-4 setback at Portland/Deering and a 7-0 home loss to Edward Little last week. The Rangers wound up ninth in the North Region and didn’t qualify for the playoffs.

In the South Region, Falmouth finished fifth at 5-12-1 following a 3-2 loss at Winslow and a 6-2 setback at Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland. The Navigators will go to York for the quarterfinals. The teams split during the regular season, with Falmouth winning on the road, 2-0, and losing at home, 3-2.

Looking ahead, the regional final is Wednesday of next week at Troubh Ice Arena in Portland.

The state game is Saturday, Feb. 18 in Portland.

Boys’ hockey

Boys’ hockey still has a couple of weeks to go in its regular season.

Falmouth continues to surge, extending its win streak to 10 games and improving to 10-2 and first in the Class A Heals after recent victories at Lewiston (6-1) and Marshwood (3-1). Against the Blue Devils, Mitchell Ham and Aaron Higgins both scored twice.

“We’re just playing really good as a team,” said Ham. “We’re playing strong defense-first, and offense is coming when we need it,”

““You come here and play in Lewiston’s home rink, it’s an away game, take a magic marker to the record,” said Navigators coach Deron Barton. “Anything’s possible.”

Goalie Brandon White made 15 key saves.

“(White) gives us a chance to bury our sins a little bit,” said Barton. “That’s how important a goalie is. In a game like this, where we didn’t have many shots, it’s tough to stay sharp and he did.”

Falmouth hosted St. Dom’s Tuesday, has a key test at Edward Little Wednesday, then welcomes Bangor Saturday.

The South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport co-op team was 6-8 and fifth in Class A following a 5-3 home loss to Edward Little, a 2-0 win at Bangor and a 1-0 setback at Lewiston. Tobey Lappin scored twice in the loss to the Red Eddies. The squad welcomes Marshwood Thursday.

In Class B South, the Cheverus/Yarmouth co-op squad extended its unbeaten streak to 11 games after beating host Kennebunk (3-1), settling for a 3-3 home tie against reigning state champion Brunswick and downing host Greely (3-1) last week. Against the Dragons, David Swift scored twice, including the equalizer in the third period, Brian Connolly also had a goal and goalie Neal McQuarrie made 31 saves.

“The last three games (against Brunswick) we’ve played a total of probably 12 or 13 15-minute periods against each other (including five overtimes in last year’s semifinals),” said Cheverus/Yarmouth coach Dave St. Pierre. “It was a fun game to be a part of. (Brunswick’s) a great team. They’re well-coached. They work hard. I thought we showed them we can play with them.”

Cheverus/Yarmouth (third in the Class B South Heals) goes to Leavitt Wednesday and hosts Messalonskee Saturday.

“We’re playing well, but we still have a lot of work to do,” St. Pierre said. “We have a lot of quality opponents in front of us. There are still areas where we can improve. We always want to play a tough schedule. We line up good opponents because it makes us playoff-ready. We want to be in tight games.”

Greely fell to 2-11 and eighth in Class B South following a 5-4 home loss to York and a 3-1 home loss to Cheverus/Yarmouth. The Rangers host Brunswick Thursday, go to Brunswick Saturday, then welcome Thornton Academy Tuesday of next week.

Indoor track

The final Western Maine Conference indoor track meet last weekend saw Greely’s boys and girls place second to York. Yarmouth’s girls came in third and the boys were fourth. NYA’s girls finished fourth.

The WMC championship meet is Friday in Gorham.

The Southwestern Maine Activities Association championship meet will be contested Saturday in Gorham.

The Class A state meet is Feb. 20 in Gorham. The Class B state meet is the same day in Lewiston.

Swimming

In the pool, in recent action, Greely’s Matt Desmond broke a four-decade school record in the 200 freestyle, finishing with a time of 1 minute, 46.3 seconds, besting the record of 1:46.64 set by Ed Harding way back in 1983. The Rangers beat Cheverus, 59-23, to go 8-2 in the regular season. Greely’s girls also downed the Stags, 48-30 to finish the regular year 9-1.

Yarmouth swept Cheverus, with the boys prevailing, 46-30, and the girls winning by a 67-20 margin.

Freeport swept Westbrook, with the boys prevailing, 71-22, and the girls winning, 61-20.

Southwesterns will be contested this weekend and the state meets are Feb. 20 and 21.

Skiing

Greely’s boys’ Nordic ski team was second to to Leavitt at the Roy Varney Hornet Classic race last week. The Rangers were led by Ben Wall (fifth, 16 minutes, 34.5 seconds) and Tait Harvey (16:35). Falmouth was 11th as a team and produced individual runner-up Isaac Seeker (16:00.4).

In the girls’ competition, won by Leavitt, Falmouth came in third and Greely was fourth. Sylvia Harvey led the Rangers with a third-place finish (19:26.1). The Navigators were paced by Zora DeSilva (12th, 21:48.8).

On the Alpine side, in a WMC giant slalom meet last week, Freeport’s girls were first and had the top individual in Rosie St. Cyr, who had a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 10.06 seconds. Yarmouth was third and Brooke Boone was third individually (1:10.29). Greely finished fifth and was led by Ruth Weeks (eighth, 1:15.91).

Yarmouth’s boys finished first. Tyler Moore was third individually (1:07.9). Freeport placed third and was paced by Ansel Goode (1:10.85). Greely came in fifth. Calem Sheff was 21st (1:21.18).

Monday, in a league slalom meet, Boone was the top individual (1:37.14) and Yarmouth came in second to Lake Region in the girls’ competition, while the Clippers boys were first as a team with Killian Marsh finishing second individually (1:36.08).

In the giant slalom, Freeport’s girls were first (St. Cyr was second individually, 1:05.03) and Greely second (Weeks placed fifth, 1:06.87). The Falcons boys also came in first and were led by Bobby Strong (second, 1:03.75). The Rangers placed third (Sheff came in 10th, 1:10.42).

The Alpine state meet begins Feb. 15.

The Nordic state meet starts Feb. 22.

Press Herald staff writers Drew Bonifant and Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.

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