FALMOUTH—It’s tough to win when you only make six field goals in 32 minutes.

And it’s impossible to win when you shoot that poorly and go up against a determined foe.

Famouth’s girls’ basketball team found that out the hard way Monday evening when it hosted Marshwood in an early-season Class A South contest, where the Navigators fell behind early and never led.

The unheralded Hawks shot to a 15-6 lead after one quarter and while Falmouth got its offense going a little bit in the second period, it still trailed, 19-16, at halftime.

Marshwood then started fast in the second half as well, scoring the first five points, and after three quarters, the Hawks were on top, 26-19.

Marshwood’s defense ensured the Navigators would never make a run in the final stanza and nine forced turnovers, combined with a pair of key putbacks from senior captain Danielle Aceto, helped close out a 35-26 victory.

Falmouth was done in by 22 turnovers and 6-of-40 shooting as it suffered its first loss in three outings, while the Hawks improved to 2-1 in the process.

“When you shoot 6-of-40 from the field, it’s hard to win games,” lamented Navigators coach Dawn Armandi. “We had ample opportunities, but we couldn’t finish. I want to believe it was just a bad shooting night and we’ll turn it around.”

Ice cold

Falmouth made a nice run to the Class A South semifinals a year ago and wasn’t satisfied after losing a close game to eventual regional champion Greely. The Navigators would have been the favorite this winter, had senior captain Sloane Ginevan not injured her knee last spring, which made her unavailable this season, but despite that setback, they started fast, handling visiting Biddeford (74-16) and host Kennebunk (50-34).

Marshwood, meanwhile, opened with two close contests, falling at Mt. Ararat (48-41), then beating visiting York (45-41).

Last year, Falmouth beat the Hawks twice, 51-37 in South Berwick and 48-42 at home.

Monday was a different story, as Marshwood came north looking to make a statement and did exactly that.

Just 20 seconds in, the game began inauspiciously for the Navigators, as senior standout Anna Turgeon was whistled for her first foul.

A mere 12 seconds after that, senior Shelby Anderson drained a 3-pointer to give the Hawks the lead for good.

Turgeon got Falmouth on the board with a putback, but sophomore Sarah Theriault answered with a putback and senior Mia Contantakos hit a 3 for an 8-2 advantage.

After a timeout, the Navigators responded, as Turgeon made a free throw and junior Maddy Christman banked home a shot under pressure. Theriault countered with a putback before a Christman free throw pulled the Navigators within four points, 10-6.

Marshwood then finished the quarter strong, as senior Jadyn Eastman came off the bench and immediately hit a 3-pointer before she made a layup after a steal for a 15-6 lead.

“That gave us momentum to carry on for the rest of the game,” said Aceto.

“For the girls to hit some early shots gave us confidence to know we could play against a team as good as Falmouth,” said Hawks coach Angie Littlefield.

When Aceto scored on a putback early in the second period, the Hawks were up 11, but a Christman bank shot with 6:23 left in the first half snapped a 3 minute, 42 second scoring drought and Turgeon added two free throws to cut the deficit to 17-10.

Theriault then hit a runner for Marshwood, but the Navigators closed the half strong, as Christman and Turgeon each made one free throw, Turgeon hit two more, then Turgeon drove for a lefthanded layup to make the score 19-16 at halftime.

Turgeon had 10 points and five rebounds and Christman stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of six points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots, but it wasn’t enough for the lead.

Falmouth appeared to have momentum heading into the second half, but instead, Marshwood opened up its lead, as senior Savannah Nashwinter made a 3-pointer from the corner, then Aceto set up Theriault for a layup and an eight-point bulge.

After Turgeon snapped a 4:02 drought with two free throws, Aceto scored on a putback and while senior Katie Lozoraitis countered with a free throw with 1:23 left, it only pulled the Navigators within seven, 26-19.

Theriault started the fourth period with a layup after a steal and after junior Reese Farraher answered with a jump shot, senior Maddie Labreck’s free throw gave the Hawks a 29-21 advantage with 7:10 left.

Farraher pulled Falmouth closer with a layup, but Marshwood refused to buckle, as Aceto scored on a putback.

“I might lack in ball-handling skills, but it takes no effort to rebound,” said Aceto. “I just had to get there and put (the ball) back up. It comes down to the having the heart to win.”

Junior Emily Abbott made a free throw for the Navigators, but Aceto converted another putback, then Anderson broke away for a layup to put it away.

Abbott made two free throws with 25 seconds remaining, but it wasn’t nearly enough and the Hawks closed out their 35-26 victory.

“This was awesome,” said Aceto. “I think we’re a great team. We work together and communicate. We like being the underdogs and stepping up and showing that we can win if teams underestimate us.”

“When we execute, we’re hard to beat,” said Littlefield. “Our goal was to shut them down defensively, get back and limit their transition offense and we did that tonight. We did a good job around the perimeter taking away what they like to do, shooting the 3. I thought our defensive pressure was excellent.”

Theriault paced Marshwood with 10 points (and 10 rebounds for a double-double). Aceto added eight points and 10 rebounds, Anderson (six rebounds) and Eastman each scored five points, Contantakos (four rebounds, three steals) and Nashwinter (three rebounds, three steals) both had three and Labreck finished with one.

The Hawks enjoyed a 51-40 rebounding advantage, made their lone free throw attempt and overcame 22 turnovers.

Falmouth was paced by a game-high 12 points (as well as six rebounds, four steals and two blocked shot) from Turgeon and six points and a game-high 15 rebounds and four blocks from Christman. Farraher added four points, Abbott had three and Lozoraitis one.

The Navigators made 14-of-22 free throws, but missed far too many field goal attempts and turned the ball over a costly 22 times.

“We talked about how they’re aggressive at both ends of the floor, but I guess we didn’t come out with that fire to match their intensity,” Armandi said.

Right back at it

Both teams turn right around and play again Tuesday night.

Marshwood looks to keep its good times rolling at home versus Wells. Thursday, the Hawks go to Biddeford.

“We just want to do well and succeed this season,” said Aceto. “This gives us motivation to continue on and win the rest of our games this week.”

“This gives us confidence to know we can compete with the big teams,” Littlefield said. “We have another big game tomorrow. We’re taking them one at a time.”

Falmouth is right back in action Tuesday with a game at Class AA contender South Portland. The Navigators then have their biggest test to date Thursday when powerhouse Brunswick pays a visit in the finale of the 2022 portion of the schedule.

“It’s early in the season,’ Armandi said. “The message to the girls is that it doesn’t matter what happens now but what happens in February. Let’s get the jitters and the bad play out now. We’ve got two more big games this week. It’s a matter of trying to get better every single day and pushing each other to do that.”

Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.