With her team holding a five-point lead and just under six minutes left in a Class A South girls’ basketball quarterfinal, Falmouth Coach Dawn Armandi called a timeout. Her message was simple. You’re ahead. Settle down.
“It was literally to remind them that they had the lead,” Armandi said. “Sometimes we forget that and start playing like we’re losing. It was a reminder that we’re winning, keep their composure, and stick to what we’re good at.”
Although Marshwood cut a 10-point Falmouth lead to five, that was as close as the Hawks got. The Navigators regained control, taking a 48-39 win Monday afternoon at the Portland Expo.
Falmouth (12-7), the No. 4 seed, will face top-seeded Brunswick (17-2) in the semifinals at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Expo. No. 5 Marshwood ends the season at 12-7.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games over the last couple of years, so we just reminded them they have the tools for what it takes to win close games. Every game we’re going to play this week, if we’re fortunate, is going to be close. They did a great job of that, keeping their composure,” Armandi said.
Falmouth senior forward Anna Turgeon scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and pointed to her team’s experience as a key to the victory. The Navigators start three seniors and two juniors.
“We’re a pretty old team. We have a lot of juniors and seniors out there. We’ve been through playoff games. We’re pretty composed.
“We been talking about it at practice all week. We have what it takes to win. We just need to have a good mentality and stay together,” Turgeon said.
Ahead 11-9 early in the second quarter, Falmouth used an 11-0 run to get some breathing room.
“People were hitting their shots. We were setting screens for each other and working off each other,” Turgeon said.
Defensively, Falmouth’s pressure forced the Hawks to play at a faster tempo than they preferred.
“Our goal was to speed (Marshwood) up, and I think that’s what we did,” Armandi said.
Emily Abbott scored 16 points, and Maddy Christman had 10 rebounds for Falmouth.
Sarah Theriault led Marshwood with nine points and nine rebounds, and Mia Constantakos scored seven points.
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