Gorham faced off with one of their most ferocious opponents in the AA South Final on Friday night, Feb. 19 – and emerged victorious. Mackenzie Holmes and Emily Esposito led the Rams’ offense with 12 and 10 points, respectively. 37-30 in the end.

Gorham head coach Laughn Berthiaume praised the opposition: “Especially in that first half, they took us out of what we really wanted to do.”

The Rams jumped to a quick 5-0 lead on Holmes’s work inside and at the line. At 6-foot-2, the freshman is already a force to be reckoned with. Riots Kathryn Whitmore and Maddie Hasson then added two apiece to keep things close – to give the first hints that this would be a tug-of-war.

It was also a defensive battle: Neither team allowed the other many good looks, and the score stayed relatively low throughout. Gorham standout Esposito, a junior this year, managed five points and Hasson added a three-point play for the Riots, but the board still only read 11-7 at the end of the first.

“Our main job,” said Esposito of the Rams’ defensive plan for the bout, “was to have someone shut Maddie Hasson down, and play textbook D everywhere else. If Hasson gets out in transition, she can score easily. She did that really well, and got some fouls on us. We had to adjust to that.”

SoPo stole a slight advantage in the second. Esposito pushed her girls out further to begin it, dropping in a two for 13-7, but then Hasson visited the line three times, hitting four of her six attempts, and added another basket on a late drive. Twos by Meghan Graff and Sarah Boles put the Riots on top 17-16 at the half.

The Riots knew heavy pressure on Esposito would be key for them in the battle – and Esposito knew they knew: “When they’re up in my grill, I kind of deal with that well,” she said. “But when it’s pushing here and there and they’re giving me nudges, I don’t handle that as well. I’m not as good as Maddie going up into people near the hoop. I usually do my fadeaway and if I get hit, the call is either there or not.”

The lead changed hands three times to start the third – Holmes, then Graff, then Holmes again scored to pass it back and forth. Gorhamite Danasia Fennie next hit a two and two frees, giving her girls a bit of breathing room, and Esposito followed her up with a buzzer-beater for 26-19 heading into the home stretch.

“We regrouped at halftime, and played a much better second half,” said Berthiaume. “We were getting better possessions offensively. We forced some tough shots in the first half; we were getting higher-percentage shots, and we got to the foul line a few more times in the second half.”

Hasson drew a block and nailed both frees as the fourth began, slashing the Riots’ deficit to five, and midway through the quarter, Lydia Henderson drained a big three to push SoPo closer still – 34-30 – but they would ultimately draw no nearer to a W. With time winding down, they needed to foul, in hopes of regaining possessions, but the strategy didn’t work out. 37-30 the final.

Beyond Holmes’s 12 and Esposito’s 10, Kaylea Lundin had eight for Gorham, Fennie five, and Kristen Curley and Michelle Rowe one apiece.

Lundin’s points all came in the final eight minutes – a huge boon of an awakening that allowed the Rams to maintain the upper hand.

“She’s been a sparkplug for us all year,” said Berthiaume. “She does a lot of things that might not always show up in the box score; today she did get in the box score a little bit.”

In addition to Hasson’s 15, Graff added six, Katie Whitmore four, Henderson three and Boles two.

The Rams entered the postseason ranked No. 1 in AA South, at 18-0. That earned them a bye through the quarters and into the semis, where they essentially smashed Bonny Eagle – a respectable outfit in ’15-’16 – into their elementary particles, 60-28.

The Riots earned the tournament three-seed by going 15-3 in the regular season. They nixed No. 6 Scarborough in the quarters, 49-41, and No. 2 McAuley 39-36 in OT in the semis.

When Gorham and South Portland met in the regular season, way back on Dec. 12, the Rams escaped with their perfect record intact – but just barely, 40-38. It was Gorham’s closest call all season, and only South Portland’s battle with Thornton was decided by fewer points.

Gorham will battle Edward Little, winners in the North, on Saturday the 27th at the Cross Insurance Arena for the State crown. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.

Noelle Dibiase (13) and Molly Merrifield (22) lead the Rams, with their fresh hardware, off the court and in the direction of their fan section.

Gorham’s Kristen Curley goes up for a jumper against South Portland on Friday night.

Despite heavy pressure from the Riots’ defense on Friday night, Emily Esposito still managed 10 points for the Rams.

Danasia Fennie of Gorham lofts up a ball in Friday night’s win over South Portland.

Gorham’s Mackenzie Holmes locks down on South Portland star Maddie Hasson, the Riots’ biggest threat to the Rams on Friday night.

Gorham’s Kaylea Lundin put up all eight of her points in the fourth quarter on Friday night, keeping her team ahead of the Riots.