PORTAND — Before the Class B girls basketball state championship game, there was talk that either Leavitt or Nokomis, or both, would break the record for most 3-pointers made in a state final.
The 3 was a huge part of both teams’ offenses, and because Nokomis tied an Eastern regional tourney record with nine 3-pointers against Mt. Desert Island not long ago, a long range shootout wasn’t a far-fetched idea.
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Leavitt’s 49-37 win at the Cumberland County Civic Center never became a 3-point war, mostly because the Leavitt defense refused to let it happen.
“We just had to be patient, because we usually like to trap,” Leavitt coach Tammy Anderson said. “You can’t trap too much because of their shooting, so we had to stay home and kind of be slower than we usually are on defense.”
Added Leavitt senior guard Abbey Randall: “We tried to get up on all the shooters we could. We definitely did the best we could on defense.”
Throughout the game, Leavitt extended its 2-3 zone to ensure the Warriors didn’t get open shots. As a result, Nokomis was just 2 of 7 from 3-point range, and the Warriors weren’t able to attempt a 3 in the third quarter, when the Hornets extended their lead to 35-25.
“We were telling the girls we had to look to attack the seams. You do that, and that opens it up a little bit, but we weren’t getting enough of that,” Nokomis coach Kori Dionne said.
As patient as the Nokomis offense had to be, the Hornets defense was even more so, and that made Coach Anderson more antsy than her players.
“It was more difficult to get into me. The kids were OK with it and I was getting a little bit nervous on the sideline. They said, ‘Coach, coach. We got it. Let’s just make sure we stay on the shooters,’ ” Anderson said. “I was a little bit nervous about the pace slowing down, and the kids thought they were OK.”
Leavitt was just 2 of 13 from 3-point range. Sophomore Kristen Anderson, who took seven of the Hornets’ 3-point tries, made both of her team’s 3-pointers. The first came with 2 minutes, 49 seconds left in the first half and gave Leavitt the lead for good, 21-19.
Anderson’s second 3 was with 2:48 to play in the third quarter. It pushed Leavitt’s lead to 30-23 and gave the Hornets some breathing room.
Nokomis’ first 3-point make came with 6:48 left in the first half, when Kylie Richards cut Leavitt’s lead to 16-15. With four minutes left in the game, Kelsie Richards made one of her four 3-point attempts to pull the Warriors to within 42-34. The Richards sisters combined for all seven of Nokomis’ 3-point tries.
“We were content to pass it around the perimeter, and that wasn’t our game plan going in,” Dionne said. “That wasn’t what we were trying to do.”
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
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