FREEPORT

It may have not been the “cleanest” played game by nine-win Freeport, but in the end, the Falcons did what they needed to do to earn a 46-36 victory over Yarmouth in girls high school basketball play on Friday.

The two Western Maine Conference foes battled in a tight game that saw the home team pull away in the fourth quarter for the win.

“It’s still a good win because you have to go and gut one out in front of a big crowd,” said Freeport coach Mike Hart.

Both teams struggled to start the game, missing shots and turning the ball over, with 10 turnovers each.

Yarmouth’s Clementine Blaschke grabbed a pair of rebounds and scored four points, but was sent to the bench late in the first quarter with three fouls. Moments later, teammate Sara D’Appolonia took her three points to the bench with three infractions as well, taking the Clippers top two scorers off the floor.

Freeport’s Caroline Smith’s precise passing found Taylor Dostie and Allie Goodman for opening-quarter baskets. But a quick basket by Adrianna Whitlock, and a steal and layup by Margaret McNeil gave Yarmouth an 11-9 lead after one quarter.

Again both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm in the second quarter. Over a five-plus minute span, neither team registered a field goal. Yarmouth only managed five second-quarter points.

Sparked by a pair of steals and a basket by Jessie Driscoll and 3-for-4 shooting from the line by Smith, the Falcons crawled back to a 16- 16 tie.

Goodman warms up

Freeport generated some offense in the third quarter. Goodman took the Falcons on her back, becoming a renaissance player, shooting, passing, defending and scoring. The senior came out a blazing, nailing a trey to break the tie, and then rattled off seven more points in the quarter while hauling in four rebounds.

“I go out and look for the open shots,” said Goodman. “Knowing they had some foul trouble, I knew I could become more aggressive.”

“Allie has a lot of confidence and likes to shoot the ball,” said Hart.

At one point, Goodman was on a 9-0 run alone.

“When she gets that open jumper and has the confidence, she can knock those down’” added Hart.

Freeport carried a 30-25 lead into the final eight minutes.

D’Appolonia returned to the game and became more of a presence for Yarmouth in the fourth quarter. Answering baskets by Driscoll, Goodman and Rinaldi, D’Appolonia kept the Clippers within striking distance, getting as close as two points at one point and trailing by four with three minutes remaining, prompting a Hart timeout.

“I told them we needed to rebound better. We were getting boxed out over the top,” said Hart. “We also talked about ball security at that moment. We were weak with the ball early on tonight, but got better at it towards the end.”

Smith found Goodman underneath the basket and the Clippers didn’t get any closer.

Freeport was 9-for-12 from the charity stripe in the final quarter and 14-for-20 for the game. The Clippers was just 5-for-15 from the line.

Blaschke had 12 points to lead Yarmouth (5-8), while D’Appolonia tallied six. Avery May chipped in seven points while bringing down five boards.

Goodman finished with a game-high 18 points (14 in the second half) and seven rebounds. Smith added 11, including 9-for-10 from the line. Rinaldi chipped in with 10 points, while Driscoll had seven rebounds and three steals to go with her five points.

Improving to 9-2, the Falcons are seen differently from their opponents, and that changes how they go into a game.

“It totally changes how we prepare. Teams want to get at us and we’re now worth points,” said Hart.

“Its good for us to see other teams’ best,” said Goodman. “We know they’re coming for us and we just need to stay aggressive.”

Freeport 46,
Yarmouth 36

At Freeport
Yarmouth—11 5 9 11 — 36
Freeport — 9 7 14 16 — 46
Yarmouth — Adriana Whitlock 2-0-
4, Clementine Blaschke 5-2-12,
Sara D’Appolonia 2-2-6, Avery May
3-0-6, Margaret F. McNeil 3-0-7,
Ceanne Lyon 0-0-0, Kathryn Kearney 0-1-1, Calin McGonagle 0-0-0.
T — 15-5-36.
Freeport — Jessie Driscoll 2-1-5,
Joanna Bogue-Marlowe 1-0-2, Taylor Rinaldi 3-4-10, Caroline Smith
1-9-11, Catriona Gould 0-0-0, Taylor Dostie 0-0-0, Allie Goodman 8-
1-18, Lindsay Routhier 0-0-0. T —
15-15-46.
3-point field goals — (Y) McNeil;
(F) Goodman
Records — Freeport 9-2, Yarmouth
5-8.
Up next for the Falcons — Tuesday at Waynflete, 5:30 p.m.