PORTLAND—Falmouth’s girls’ basketball team was shorthanded in the backcourt when it went to Deering Friday evening.
But fortunately for the Navigators, senior Maddy Christman was present and accounted for.
And thanks in large part to a huge effort from Christman, Falmouth was able to earn a much-needed victory.
Even if it did require four extra minutes.
The host Rams appeared primed to run away and hide when they forced multiple turnovers and went up, 9-2, midway through the first period, but the Navigators settled in and pulled within 14-12 behind a late basket from senior Kate Barter.
Deering again took a seven point advantage, 21-14, midway through the second quarter, but a layup from sophomore Jaelyn Meader pulled Falmouth within five at the break.
There would be little separation in a third period which featured eight lead changes and when senior Shay Rosenthal made a layup after a steal, the Rams clung to a 33-30 lead heading for the fourth quarter.
There, after a layup from senior Reese Farraher put the Navigators on top, 36-35, a jumper from senior Maya Gayle and a Rosenthal layup put Deering on the brink of victory, but with just 23 seconds to go, freshman Siobhan Nielsen made the biggest shot of her young life, a 3-pointer, to tie the score and send the game to overtime deadlocked at 39-39.
And in the extra session, after a Gayle free throw gave the Rams a one-point lead, Christman put Falmouth up with a bank shot and after Gayle tied the score with a foul shot, Christman, who missed multiple free throws down the stretch, got another chance from the line with just 5.1 seconds remaining and she hit one of two foul shots for the lead.
Deering couldn’t answer at the horn and the Navigators were able to snap a four-game skid and prevail, 42-41.
Christman led the way with a whopping 18 points and 21 rebounds as Falmouth improved to 2-7 and in the process, dropped the Rams to 4-6.
“It feels awesome,” said Navigators coach Dawn Armandi. “It feels like it’s been forever since we won. We’ve been in a lot of games, but we hurt ourselves and turn the ball over. It was nice tonight to see us finally capitalize and finish a game off.”
A positive step
While most of the attention in Class A South is centered around reigning champion Brunswick and top contenders Mt. Ararat and Gray-New Gloucester, Deering and Falmouth hope to move into the discussion by season’s end.
The Rams, who moved down from Class AA this season, started with a 49-43 home loss to Freeport, then gave host Brunswick a scare in a 43-39 setback. Deering then got in the win column at Falmouth (41-36) and again at home over rival Portland (45-39) before losing at home to powerhouse Cheverus (61-27) and at Lewiston (55-34). The Rans earned their biggest win to date, 37-31, at home over Mt. Ararat, then went overtime to prevail at Kennebunk (53-46) before falling in their last outing, 55-27, at Marshwood.
Falmouth, which got to the semifinals in Class A South last season before losing some top talent to graduation, started with losses at Gray-New Gloucester (53-38) and Westbrook (44-31) and at home to Deering (41-36) before getting in the win column with a 54-43 home victory over Class AA South contender South Portland. The Navigators then fell at Gorham (55-29), against Yarmouth in a holiday game at the Portland Exposition Building (49-38) and at home to Greely (47-37) and Gray-New Gloucester (52-37).
In the teams’ first meeting, senior Natalie Santiago led the Rams with 15 points while Maya Gayle added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Emily Abbott led Falmouth with 12 points.
Friday, both Abbott and Santiago missed the contest due to injury and 32 minutes weren’t enough to determine a winner.
Deering opened the scoring with a Rosenthal free throw, then freshman Angelina Keo made a layup after a steal and Keo set up freshman Blake Gayle for a bank shot and a quick 5-0 lead.
The Navigators got on the board with 5:33 left in the opening stanza, as sophomore Jane McPheeters set up Nieslen for a layup, but Maya Gayle made two foul shots, then Rosenthal did the same for a 9-2 advantage.
Barter countered with two free throws for Falmouth, but a driving basket from Blake Gayle put the Rams back in front by seven.
Falmouth then closed the frame on an 8-3 run, as Christman banked home a shot for her first points and after Maya Gayle scored on a putback, Christman made a free throw, then hit a jumper.
After Maya Gayle sank a foul shot, McPheeters answered with one, then Barter’s bank shot pulled the Navigators within 14-12 heading for the second period.
There, the scoring pace slowed, but Deering remained in front.
The quarter began with Keo knocking down a 3-pointer and after Christman took a pass from McPheeters and made a layup, Keo drove and banked home a shot before Rosenthal made a layup after a steal with 4:28 to go to again put the Rams up seven, 21-14.
Eight seconds later, Meader made a layup and that would be it for first half scoring as Deering took a five-point advantage to the break.
Keo paced the Rams with seven first half points, while Maya Gayle and Rosenthal added five apiece. Christman led Falmouth with seven points and seven rebounds.
The third period would see the teams go back and forth.
The third quarter began with McPheeters finishing a feed from Nielsen and making a layup to snap a 4 minute, 35 second scoring drought.
Christman then scored on a putback and with 6:10 to go, a runner from Meader gave Falmouth its first lead, 22-21.
After Maya Gayle made a layup with 5:48 remaining in the frame to end a 6:40 drought, she added two free throws, but Barter fed Christman for a layup, then Farraher hit a runner to put the Navigators back in front, 26-25.
Senior Sophie Hill scored on a putback, but Christman countered with two foul shots.
After Maya Gayle scored on a leaner in traffic, Christman managed to bank home a contested shot, but Deering closed with a surge, as Keo scored on a runner in the lane, then Rosenthal’s layup after a steal sent the Rams to the fourth quarter up three, 33-30.
But Deering couldn’t close it out.
After Christman kept play alive with an offensive rebound, she fed McPheeters for a bank shot to start the frame.
Sophomore Almarina Abore answered with a putback for the Rams, but Meader hit a jumper, then with 4:18 to go, after a McPheeters steal, Farraher’s layup put Falmouth up, 36-35.
Seventeen seconds later, Maya Gayle put Deering back in front with a jumper.
Christman then had a chance to answer when she went to the charity stripe, but she missed both attempts with 3:49 to play.
With 2:24 on the clock, Christman again went to the line and she again missed both shots.
When Keo set up Rosenthal for a layup with 52 seconds left, the Rams were ahead, 39-36, and on the brink of victory, but the Navigators refused to buckle.
Out of a timeout, with 23 seconds remaining, Nielsen got the ball and let fly a 3-point shot that found the net and just like that, the game was deadlocked.
“That shot gave us confidence and that’s what we really need,” Christman said.
“We ran that play to a tee,” Armandi said. “I was so proud to see Siobhan hit that shot as a freshman. That’s a huge shot. She shot it like she’s a senior.”
Deering hoped to answer, but it turned the ball over.
At the other end, Blake Gayle’s steal gave the Rams a chance to win it in regulation.
As time wound down, the ball came up top to junior Alison Hilton, who had a great look to play the hero, but her promising shot was just off the mark and it was on to overtime.
The four-minute OT session began with the visitors winning the tip, but Meader missed a 3 and Hilton got the rebound.
After the teams traded turnovers, Deering took a one-point lead on a free throw from Maya Gayle with 2:49 left.
The lead lasted for two minutes, as Maya Gayle blocked a shot, McPheeters missed a 3, then Meader missed a shot as well for Falmouth, while the Rams saw Maya Gayle, Blake Gayle and Rosenthal miss shots as well.
Then, with 44.5 seconds showing, McPheeters passed to Christman, who banked home a shot for the ninth lead change of the game a 41-40 edge.
Sixteen seconds later, Deering drew even, as Maya Gayle made the second of two free throws.
The Navigators then set up McPheeters for a shot which was no good, but Christman got the offensive rebound, her 12th of the game, and with 5.1 seconds remaining, she was fouled.
This time, Christman calmly sank the first attempt and Falmouth had the lead.
“I was really nervous, but I knew if I thought about it too much I’d miss, so I just let my muscles do it,” Christman said.
“Honestly, there wasn’t anybody I’d rather have at the line than Maddy,” Armandi said. “She works so hard. She’s having a great year. I knew she’d step up there for the team.”
Out of a timeout, the Rams hoped to race up the floor and win it, but after Rosenthal inbounded the ball to Hilton, then got it back, she could only attempt a desperation heave from beyond the 3-point mark that was off target.
“We were looking to go long if they played up,” Deering coach Mike Murphy said. “It was going to be a tough shot anyway, so it was going to be Shay or Angie. I was happy with that shot.”
“I was just hoping the shot wouldn’t go in,” Christman said.
At 6:32 p.m., Falmouth was finally able to exhale and celebrate its 42-41 victory.
“It feels so good,” said Christman. “I think we just stayed composed. We’ve worked a lot in practice on our press break and we really executed today. We were confident in ourselves and knew we had the skills to win.”
“At halftime, I reminded them they have the skills, that they’re good basketball players and they needed to play with more confidence and it showed up in the second half,” Armandi said. “I hope it shows that even being down starters that we can battle and win.”
Christman had a game to remember, scoring 18 points, grabbing 21 rebounds and adding five blocked shots and a pair of steals.
Meader finished with six points, three steals and two assists, McPheeters (10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals) and Nielsen each had five and Barter and Farraher (three rebounds and two assists) finished with four apiece.
Falmouth overcame 7-of-16 foul shooting and 20 turnovers.
Deering was paced by Maya Gayle, who had 15 points and six rebounds. Keo added nine points (as well as eight rebounds and four steals), Rosenthal also had nine (to go with seven rebounds and two steals), Blake Gayle finished with four points (seven rebounds and three steals) and Abore and Hill (four rebounds) tallied two apiece.
The Rams had a 39-37 edge on the glass and hit 10-of-14 free throws, but turned the ball over 22 times.
“It’s very frustrating,” Murphy said. “Missed shots, missed layups, missed opportunities. We’ve had moments of being very good, but our decision making has been a struggle. It’s tough to watch opportunities slip away. When you have a team down you have to keep them down. We’ll score in scrambles, but scoring in a 5-on-5 setting is a struggle. It’s the second and third efforts that hurt the team. We couldn’t give up offensive boards to (Christman).”
Looking to climb
Deering (ninth in the Class A South Heal Points standings) hosts Westbrook Monday, then will get another opportunity to take on Brunswick, this time at home, Thursday of next week.
“We have seven more games and we have to get healthy,” said Murphy. “We had eight kids in uniform tonight. One thing I’m impressed with my kids is they show up and play hard. I’d just love to see better decisions with the ball when it counts. We have a long way to go. There are plenty of teams we hope to compete with but we need everyone healthy.
Falmouth is idle until Jan. 23, when it goes to Marshwood. The Navigators, currently ranked 10th in Class A South, need a strong finishing kick.
“We just need to give our all every game and just play how we can play,” said Christman.
“Hopefully this gives us the boost to take us into next week,” Armandi said.
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