SACO – The Thornton Academy girls basketball team had a tough return to action after a week off on Dec. 30 as Windham came in and handed the Trojans a 46-26 loss.

It was the second defeat in a row for the Trojan girls (3-2), who opened the season with a three-game winning streak. Windham elevated its record to 4-2 with the victory.

Coming into the game against the Trojans, the Eagles had risen to as high as No. 2 in the Heal Point standings before back-to-back losses to unbeaten Scarborough and Marshwood by a combined eight points dropped their record.

After the game, Eagle coach Jessie Cummings said that she let her team know that they needed a win against a Thornton team that was also looking to end a losing streak.

“The girls knew how big this game was,” Cummings said. “They wanted to get back on the winning track. It was crucial for us. Thornton Academy is going to gain a lot of Heal Points the rest of the way.”

Despite Cummings’ praise of the Trojans, the Eagles’ dismantled Thornton coach Eric Martson’s team on both ends of the court. “The most disappointing thing is that they outworked us,” said Martson. “There was a lack of effort at both ends of the court. It was evident from the score, their effort was greater than ours.”

Bebe Butts paced the Eagle offense in the first quarter by nailing two early 3-pointers. Her shooting allowed Windham to take a 10-6 first quarter lead that they would never relinquish.

The Eagles finished with eight 3-pointers, which accounted for more than half of Windham’s scoring.

While the Eagles were having one of their better shooting days, it was their defense that allowed them to continue to stretch their lead.

“We knew we needed to focus in on their post players,” said Cummings. “Our post did an excellent job on Meghan Agger, I don’t think she scored a point. We fronted her with good help-side defense and I told the girls that we won that game because of our defense. They listened to what the coaches told them to do. They performed exactly how we wanted them to guard those bigs.”

The Eagles’ suffocating defense allowed them to take a 23-14 lead into the half.

Gribbin stormed out of the gate for the Eagles in the third as she dropped 10 straight points to stretch the Eagle lead.

Gribbin, who finished with a game-high 15 points, said she hadn’t been in a groove like that for the whole season. “My 3-point shooting has actually been struggling really bad this year,” said Gribbin. “I think I only had two or three points in the first half, so I knew I had to come out and it’s my job to lead the team. Those were big shots, but the whole team feeds off that energy. It was a good groove to be in and a good time to be in it.” She finished the night with a game-high 15 points.

SACO – The Thornton Academy girls basketball team had a tough return to action after a week off on Dec. 30 as Windham came in and handed the Trojans a 46-26 loss.

It was the second defeat in a row for the Trojan girls (3-2), who opened the season with a three-game winning streak. Windham elevated its record to 4-2 with the victory.

Coming into the game against the Trojans, the Eagles had risen to as high as No. 2 in the Heal Point standings before back-to-back losses to unbeaten Scarborough and Marshwood by a combined eight points dropped their record.

After the game, Eagle coach Jessie Cummings said that she let her team know that they needed a win against a Thornton team that was also looking to end a losing streak.

“The girls knew how big this game was,” Cummings said. “They wanted to get back on the winning track. It was crucial for us. Thornton Academy is going to gain a lot of Heal Points the rest of the way.”

Despite Cummings’ praise of the Trojans, the Eagles’ dismantled Thornton coach Eric Martson’s team on both ends of the court. “The most disappointing thing is that they outworked us,” said Martson. “There was a lack of effort at both ends of the court. It was evident from the score, their effort was greater than ours.”

Bebe Butts paced the Eagle offense in the first quarter by nailing two early 3-pointers. Her shooting allowed Windham to take a 10-6 first quarter lead that they would never relinquish.

The Eagles finished with eight 3-pointers, which accounted for more than half of Windham’s scoring.

While the Eagles were having one of their better shooting days, it was their defense that allowed them to continue to stretch their lead.

“We knew we needed to focus in on their post players,” said Cummings. “Our post did an excellent job on Meghan Agger, I don’t think she scored a point. We fronted her with good help-side defense and I told the girls that we won that game because of our defense. They listened to what the coaches told them to do. They performed exactly how we wanted them to guard those bigs.”

The Eagles’ suffocating defense allowed them to take a 23-14 lead into the half.

Gribbin stormed out of the gate for the Eagles in the third as she dropped 10 straight points to stretch the Eagle lead.

Gribbin, who finished with a game-high 15 points, said she hadn’t been in a groove like that for the whole season. “My 3-point shooting has actually been struggling really bad this year,” said Gribbin. “I think I only had two or three points in the first half, so I knew I had to come out and it’s my job to lead the team. Those were big shots, but the whole team feeds off that energy. It was a good groove to be in and a good time to be in it.” She finished the night with a game-high 15 points.