In the closing seconds of Friday night’s game between Windham’s Lady Eagles and the visiting Westbrook Lady Blazes, Westbrook’s Meliah Leighton hit two clutch free throws to give the Blazes a three-point lead that would stick until the final buzzer. Windham’s Kelsey Babb had an open look at a three-pointer that would have sent the game into overtime, but missed the game’s final shot, giving Westbrook a 35-32 victory.

Senior forward Cynthia Wescott led the scoring for the Blazes with 10 points. Emily Wight, a junior guard, had eight points for Westbrook, scoring four in the fourth quarter. Erin Murphy hit a key three-point shot in the final quarter and had three steals.

Kelsey Babb paced the Eagles offense with nine points, all coming from three-pointers. Jenna Willey had seven points, and Riley Graves and Kelsey McGowan each added six for Windham.

“It’s a game that we needed to win to avoid a prelim, and it’s always a tough game coming up (to Windham),” said Westbrook coach Mike Murphy.

Windham was up 26-24 going into the fourth quarter, and immediately went on the attack, with Stacey Niedoroda hitting an early shot, increasing Windham’s lead to 28-24. Westbrook’s Murphy hit a clutch three-pointer on an assist from Wescott, making it a one-point game. Willey answered Murphy’s three with one of her own, creating another four-point lead over the Lady Blazes.

The attention soon turned to Westbrook’s Emily Wight. A clutch steal for Wight midway through the quarter and four points from Wight on back-to-back possessions tied the game at 31-31.

Another late basket from Murphy, making it a 33-31 game, put the Lady Blazes back up, but with center Audrey Shutts fouling out with just over a minute to go, and with Wescott also fouling out with 35.1 seconds left, Windham had new life and a few tricks to use in the event of this kind of game situation.

Riley Graves hit a free throw to pull the Eagles to within one point, now 33-32, but a late Windham foul sent Leighton to the free throw line for two shots with 14 seconds remaining on the clock. Leighton held off the pressure and hit both, increasing the lead to 35-32 in favor of Westbrook.

“With (Leighton) getting fouled with 14 seconds to go, she’s a pretty good shooter, and I said during our timeout that, ‘Hey, you’re going to make them just like you do in practice,’ and God bless her, she knocked them down just like it was practice, and it was a great defensive stand that last 14 seconds to avoid going into overtime,” said coach Murphy.

Windham used the final 14 seconds to give senior Kelsey Babb a chance at hitting another three to send the game to overtime. After already hitting three from beyond the arc during the game, it was no surprise the ball wound up in her hands.

“We called a timeout when (Westbrook) was shooting foul shots and we set up different scenarios with what we’d have to do,” said Windham coach Jessie Mayol. “We had 14 seconds, and we had a play we were going to run if we needed a three-point shot and the girls executed it. They got it past half court, ran the play, and that one just didn’t drop. There’s nobody else I’d rather have seen shoot that shot. Unfortunately, it didn’t go in, but that game was a win for us.”

Babb started the contest hitting a three-pointer, but Westbrook was soon able to control the pace of the game with their slow style of play, taking an 8-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Blazes were able to open up the score during the early stages of the second quarter, with Wight and Wescott combining for eight points and giving Westbrook a 16-7 lead.

“We took a nine-point lead at one point in the second, and we got a little lazy with a couple possessions, and next thing you know, they’re into the game and (Windham’s) believing they could be in this game,” said Coach Murphy.

The Blazes soon found themselves in foul trouble, consistently sending Windham players to the foul line. By the time the quarter was completed, the Lady Eagles had scored seven points on free throws during the second, and of the last 11 points combined between the two teams, Windham finished with nine of the last 11. Because of this, Westbrook went into halftime clinging to just a two-point lead.

“We don’t typically hit our foul shots, so for them to step to the foul line and knock them down is something we’ve struggled with all year, so it’s nice to see them getting the extra points,” said Mayol.

“That’s what kept them in the game, and you’ve got to make the foul shots. They’re free points in my book. You go to the line, and with nobody defending you, you’ve got to make them,” said Murphy. “The other key thing is, if they miss them, we’ve got to collect the rebounds, and we gave up a couple cheap rebounds that we didn’t collect.”

The second half started the same way the first half started: with Babb hitting a three-point shot and setting the stage for the Eagles, only this one came after a basket from Wight. Babb later hit her third three-pointer halfway through the third, this one on an assist from Willey and gave Windham a 24-22 lead. Babb repaid the favor on the following possession, getting an assist on a Willey score that gave the Eagles a 26-22 lead. Wescott scored a late basket for the Blazes, setting the stage for an intense fourth quarter.

“We had only four people return from last year, and Kelsey Babb’s the only senior,” said Mayol. “Great group of girls, and I’m so excited to have most of them come back next year. (Babb) is a huge part of our team. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and she’ll definitely be missed by everyone.”

With the regular season now finished, the Eagles finished with a 4-14 record, while the Blazes established themselves as a top team in Southern Maine, going 13-5 after finishing 1-17 only three years ago and are looking to go deep in the playoffs.

“I think as far as the numbers and seeds go, throw them out. One through eight ought to be able to win this thing. There’s no clear-cut favorite,” said Murphy. “Deering’s probably going in No. 1. We beat Deering, and South Portland beat Deering. South Portland’s probably going in No. 2, and we took South Portland to overtime. Scarborough could be No. 3, and we beat Scarborough. Noble could be No. 3 as well; they beat us by a bucket. It’s going to be a great, fun tournament. Anyone can win it.”