BIDDEFORD — The visiting Sanford girls basketball team would take the lead late in the first quarter and held it for most of the game, but a late Biddeford rally would make things interesting on Friday night.
The Tigers would not go down easily as early in the fourth quarter Gracie Martin went on a seven-point streak to give Biddeford a one-point lead. After eight lead changes and with 2.4 seconds left, Sanford’s Paige Cote hit two free throws to secure the 48-45 win for the Spartans.
“Once it came down to it, we were in a fight. We had to comeback. Playing a team like that, they’re not going to give up. When you have them down, you have to keep them down. We obviously didn’t do that but we were able to make some shots down the stretch,” said Sanford head coach Rossie Kearson.
Paige Cote would grab the late lead in the first quarter for Sanford, putting up 16 points in the opening quarter to produce a 20-7 lead.
“Paige Cote was huge for us in the first half. She had about 10 rebounds, nine of them were offensive and she was scoring off them. That made a huge difference for us,” said Kearson.
Sanford and Biddeford would both score seven points in the second quarter leading to a 27-14 score.
“We’ve been saying all season that we have a quarter every game that just isn’t our kind of basketball and isn’t well played. I think for us that was second quarter. We really struggled,” said Biddeford head coach Katie Herbine.
Biddeford would dominate the third quarter, outscoring the Spartans 16-7 for a chance at a comeback.
“I thought that we started off strong. For about two-and-a-half quarters and then all of it sudden it unfolded on us, where we just lost our focus and things of that nature,” said Kearson.
Biddeford’s Martin, who will be playing basketball at Harvard next year, would put on a show, scoring 12 points in the third quarter to create a four-point deficit going into the fourth quarter, 34-30.
“They did a great job in the second half of keeping it together, keeping it composed, doing all the things we had talked about. You can’t dig yourself that big of a hole against a good team and think it’s going to be easy to come back and win,” said Herbine. “We live to fight another day and played a great second half but it just wasn’t enough.”
Cote led Sanford with 22 points, while Samya Santiague chipped in nine and Jaylyn Bartolome added seven.
“Jaylyn Bartolome, a freshman, came out and was scoring in the third quarter right away. That was pretty huge and she hit a huge basket down the stretch,” said Kearson. “Great win overall. Great effort from everybody overall. We just have to keep it going.”
Martin led the Tigers with a game-high 29 points on the night. Chantelle Bouchard added eight.
“Credit to Sanford, they did a great job keeping their composure at the end and starting out hot, they did a good job of getting the ball inside,” said Herbine.
Sanford improves to 7-7 on the year. Biddeford drops to 4-10.
Sanford will travel to Massabesic on Tuesday, while Biddeford travels to Kennebunk.
“We regroup. Every team can tell you that the schedules not easy, we play seven AA teams. Every time you turn around you’ve got a big one coming up. Kennebunk is a big game for us,” said Herbine. “They can feel bad about it tonight and then we’re back to work tomorrow morning.”
— Sports Writer Sienna Barstow can be reached at sbarstow@journaltribune.com or at 780-9018. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.