WALES

For 21 years, Tom Morong ran the Morse High School girls basketball team. He decided to step away from coaching, but found himself wanting to get back into it soon after that decision, eventually taking the job at Oak Hill.

Morong admitted it was odd and even a little bit uncomfortable seeing players he had coached in the Bath Recreation program when his former team took on Morse Tuesday in Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B play.

Players he coached — Tori Field, Katie Henrikson, Brianna Bigelow, Crystal Leavitt and others, were on the court, trying to beat the man who groomed them during their formative years in the Bath Recreation Department league.

“These were little girls at one time that are beating my butt now,” said Morong after Morse won its season opener 52-34 to drop the Raiders to 0- 2. “I think it will be weirder when we play there (Jan. 26). Going back to Bath will be strange as the visiting coach.”

Morse coach Mike Hart, who replaced Morong when this year’s seniors were incoming freshmen, was excited to go up against a coach that “I have been around most of my basketball career,” said Hart, whose team will host Maranacook on Friday at 7 p.m. at Bath Middle School. “Tom did a lot in grooming many of these players, and they were excited to go up against him tonight.”

Sluggish early

Morse began slowly, missing its first four shots and turning the ball over three times, while Oak Hill received a 3-pointer from Sadie Goulet and a putback by Jane Marston for a 5-0 lead.

“I thought we were settling for the outside shot, and when the first few 3- point shots don’t fall, it makes it tough,” said Hart, who challenged his team to take the ball to the basket during a timeout.

The talk paid off, as Henrikson drove the lane before dishing to Brianna Bigelow for a jumper to begin a 7-0 Shipbuilder run. Henrikson’s hoop and harm tied the game and her short jump shot moments later put Morse up 7-5.

Field capped the first quarter with a pair of 3-pointers to give Morse a 13-9 lead.

Hart went to his bench, calling on Lauren Crosby, who paid immediate dividends with five second-quarter points as Morse clawed its way to a 21-13 lead at the half.

“Playing with my sister (junior Sadia Crosby) has been great because she is my inspiration,” said the senior, who added six more points during a key third-quarter run to put her team in control. “We tried to go hard to the basket to get rebounds, and I was able to get some put-back points.”

Lauren Crosby’s layup gave Morse a 26-17 lead, and sister Sadia’s putback provided the Shipbuilders with a 10-point lead, 30-20, with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

The third frame featured 19 fouls, with both teams making steady trips to the charity stripe. Morse struggled, going three for 10 in the quarter, while the Raiders were eight of 13.

Early in the fourth quarter, Henrikson was whistled for a charging violation. Hart protested, earning a technical foul. Oak Hill (0-2) leading scorer Darby Beaulieu was summoned from the bench by Morong and sank both free throws to pull her team to within five points, 34-29.

“I hate getting a technical foul, and felt we had a good opportunity taken away from us there,” said Hart.

However, Morse seemed to draw momentum from the call, going on a 15-2 run for a 49-31 lead with three minutes remaining.

“We came together and fought through a tough time, and it showed how close we are as a team,” said Lauren Crosby, who finished with a team-high 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while sister Sadia had a game-high 15 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Morse turned things around at the foul line in the final frame, making 14 of 18 as Kerry Cummings scored seven of her nine points in the quarter, while Henrikson finished with 11 points and four assists, and Field eight points, eight steals, four assists and seven caroms. The Shipbuilders were 15 of 59 from the field (25 percent) and 19 of 33 from the foul line.

Beaulieu paced the Raiders with nine points and eight rebounds, while Marrissa Caskin chipped in six points and Kayla Veilleux five. Oak Hill shot 20 percent (11 of 53), committed 28 turnovers and made 11 of 24 from the charity stripe.

Morse 52,
Oak Hill 34

At Oak Hill High School

	Morse		—	13	8	13	18	—	52
Oak		Hill		— 9	4	12	9	—	34

Morse — Katie Henrikson 2-7-11, Tori
Field 2-2-8, Brianna Bigelow 2-0-4, Kerry
Cummings 2-5-9, Sadia Crosby 1-2-4,
Lauren Crosby 5-3-13, Megan Hixon 0-0-
0, Crystal Leavitt 1-0-3. Totals – 15-19-
52.
Oak Hill — Sadie Goulet 1-1-4, Jane
Marston 1-0-2, Marrissa Caskin 0-0-0,
Chassidy Hilchey 2-0-4, Darby Beaulieu 2-
5-9, Vanessa Wright 2-0-4, Meagan Crosby 1-0-2, Julie Morneault 0-0-0, Alexis
Priest 0-1-1, Kayla Veilleux 2-1-5, Hayley
Marshall 1-1-3, Danielle Samson 0-0-0.
Totals – 12-9-34.
3-point field goals – (Mo) Tori Field 2,
Crystal Leavitt; (OH) Sadie Goulet.
Records — Morse 1-0, Oak Hill 0-2.
Next for the Shipbuilders — Friday at
home against Maranacook, 7 p.m.