GORHAM — They’re young, among the youngest teams in the state.
But the players on the South Portland girls’ basketball team think they can be a threat in Class AA South this season. On Friday, they provided some evidence.
Emma Travis led the way with 10 points, and South Portland’s defense held off a late rally in a 33-31 season-opening victory over two-time defending Class AA South champion Gorham.
For a team that started two sophomores and two freshmen and has no seniors, it’s an early dose of confidence and momentum.
“To win the first game was really important,” Coach Lynne Hasson said. “I know that they did believe and they do believe that we’re a good team, but I think they had to see it. And so the fact that they saw it tonight against a really good team is enough to get us going in the right direction.”
Zoe Dellinger scored 10 points to lead Gorham, which returned every starter from last year’s team, but the Rams were out of sorts for most of the game. The game was tied 18-18 at halftime, and then Gorham shot 1 for 12 in the third quarter.
“I was expecting us to play like we had played in the preseason. I thought our execution wasn’t what it should be,” Coach Laughn Berthiaume said. “Maybe some of it’s nerves. It’s something that we have to be ready for. Teams are going to be ready to play us.”
The Rams almost pulled out a win anyway. South Portland led 32-24 midway through the fourth quarter, but Summer Gammon had two transition layups after steals that bookended a Dellinger 3-pointer, making it 33-31 with 1:41 to play.
Missed free throws gave the Rams two chances to tie or take the lead with under 30 seconds to go, but the Red Riots’ defense forced a turnover, and then a missed shot at the buzzer.
“It was all our defense that really pulled us through today,” said Travis, one of two juniors on the roster, whose helped South Portland hold Gorham senior Ellie Gay to five points. “It’s all talking. You’ve got to talk it out. Screens, get above them. You’ve got to help your teammates.”
That defense held Gorham without a point for over nine minutes between the third and fourth quarters. Hasson credited her team’s hustle getting back in transition, tenaciousness in closing out on shooters, and ability to defend without relying on the help defense that would leave another Gorham player open.
“I thought we did an exceptional job not getting beat off the dribble,” Hasson said. “We were working so hard on the ball.”
South Portland gained separation when Travis hit a pair of free throws and Stella Henderson made a jumper for a 27-20 lead with 2:09 to go in the third.
“We hit some important shots that were huge,” said Travis, whose team also got five points apiece from Destiny Peter and Annie Whitmore. “You just kind of have to stay zoned in.”
Gorham got eight rebounds from Vanessa Walker.
“I’d like to see the intensity (all game),” Berthiaume said. “We had to play that way at the end a little bit out of desperation. Instead of playing out of desperation, I’d like to play with that intensity all game.”
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