Waynflete girls get back on track at NYA

Waynflete junior Lydia Giguere goes up for two points as North Yarmouth Academy freshman Katie Larson arrives too late during the Flyers’ 55-34 win Tuesday night. Giguere’s 14 points helped Waynflete beat the Panthers for the 23rd straight time.

Brian Beard photos.

More photos below.

BOX SCORE

Waynflete 55 North Yarmouth Academy 34

W- 18 15 18 4- 55
NYA- 7 10 11 6- 34

W- Brooks 8-0-16, Giguere 6-0-14, Boedeker 5-0-10, Olney 2-2-7, Burdick 2-0-4, Pope 1-0-2, Wildes 1-0-2

NYA- K. Larson 5-1-15, M. Larson 2-0-5, Plummer 2-1-5, Tufts 2-1-5, Hamblett 2-0-4

3-pointers:
W (3) Giguere 2, Olney 1
NYA (5) K.Larson 4, M. Larson 1

Turnovers:
W- 24
NYA- 38

Free throws
W: 2-5
NYA: 3-8

YARMOUTH—In its last outing, Waynflete’s girls’ basketball team dug an early hole and never recovered in a loss to Yarmouth.

Tuesday evening, the Flyers tried the other side of that equation and discovered that they liked it much better.

At North Yarmouth Academy, Waynflete got 3-point shots from juniors Lydia Giguere and LZ Olney and a pair of hoops from senior Annika Brooks to race to a quick 10-0 lead, which mushroomed into an 18-7 advantage after one quarter.

While the Flyers went quiet for over six minutes, they had enough of a cushion to stay ahead and the offense reawakened just before halftime, as Waynflete closed the half on a 15-2 run to take a commanding 33-17 lead to the break.

The Flyers never let up in the second half, going on top by 23 points, 51-28, after three periods, then went on to a 55-34 victory.

Waynflete got 16 points from Brooks, 14 from Giguere, 10 from sophomore Emi Boedeker, forced 38 turnovers and evened its record at 2-2, dropping NYA to 1-3 in the process as it beat the Panthers for the 23rd consecutive time.

“The girls played hard, like they’re accustomed to doing,” said Flyers coach Mike Jefferds. “It’s a great group of girls who went through a tough week with exams and some tough games. NYA is much improved. We told our kids they couldn’t go to sleep against them.”

One sided rivalry

On Jan. 17, 2006, NYA beat visiting Waynflete, 60-52.

The next 22 meetings all went to the Flyers, most of them in lopsided fashion (see sidebar, below).

Last winter, Waynflete won 49-23 at home and 64-23 in Yarmouth.

Both teams have shown glimpses of promise this season.

The Panthers opened with a 36-26 home loss to Old Orchard Beach. After enjoying a 58-35 victory at Hyde, NYA lost, 33-29, at home to Traip Academy Thursday.

The Flyers opened with a 38-29 home victory over Sacopee Valley, then lost, 55-53, at Freeport and 55-23 at home to Yarmouth.

Tuesday, the Panthers were seeking their first win over Waynflete in nearly 11 years, but the Flyers instead made it 23 straight in the series.

Waynflete came out sizzling, as junior point guard Izzy Burdick set up Giguere and Olney for 3-pointers on successive possessions for a 6-0 lead just 38 seconds in.

Brooks added a putback, then off an inbounds set, Burdick passed to Brooks for another layup and a 10-0 lead with 5:09 to play in the first quarter, forcing NYA coach Seth Farrington to call timeout.

“A good start was so important,” Giguere said. “It gave us confidence to go ahead like that. It’s such a confidence booster when shots go in off the bat.”

“It was big to get the lead,” said Jefferds. “Lately, we’ve played from behind. That was a good feeling, absolutely.”

The Panthers responded, as freshman Katie Larson buried a long 3 and sophomore Sydney Plummer took a pass from senior Lindsay Tufts and made a layup to cut the deficit in half.

The Flyers then got jumpers from Burdick and Boedeker and after NYA got a jumper from sophomore Helen Hamblett, who produced a spark off the bench, Brooks hit a leaner, then after a Giguere steal, Brooks made a layup for an 18-7 advantage after one period.

In the first eight minutes, Brooks had eight points, Burdick dished out four assists and the Panthers hurt themselves with nine turnovers.

NYA made things interesting in the second quarter before Waynflete broke it open.

A long jumper from Tufts, an old-fashioned three-point play (bank shot, foul and free throw) from Plummer and a 3 from Larson pulled the Panthers within 18-15.

With 2:45 to go in the half, Olney made a free throw to snap a 6 minute, 21 second drought and that brought the Flyers to life.

Giguere hit a leaner, after a Burdick steal, Olney made a layup, Boedeker hit a bank shot and Boedeker scored on a putback to make it 27-15.

After a leaner from NYA sophomore Maggie Larson, Waynflete got a jumper from Boedeker, a layup from Giguere after a steal by senior Ali Pope and a steal and a layup from Giguere in the final 48 seconds for a commanding 33-17 lead at the break.

“Ends of the quarters and halves, we want to get momentum,” Giguere said. “It was helpful to score the way we did at the end of the half.”

“We’re working hard at trying to play the full 32 minutes,” Jefferds said. “Sometimes we have lapses, which is typical of high school athletics. They recognized the lapse, which I commend them for. They changed tempo and they changed direction of the way that half went. I’m very proud of them.”

In the first half, not only did the Flyers force 24 turnovers, they got nine points and seven steals from Giguere, eight points and seven rebounds from Brooks and eight points from Boedeker.

In the third quarter, the Flyers further extended their lead.

Giguere got the ball rolling again with a layup after a steal, then she stole the ball once more and this time, set up Burdick for a layup and a 37-17 lead.

After Katie Larson knocked down another long range 3, Burdick fed Boedeker for a bank shot, Olney made a free throw, Brooks drove the baseline for a layup and Brooks banked home a shot to make it 44-20.

After Katie Larson answered with a layup, Brooks made a layup and Giguere sank a 3 for a 49-22 advantage.

The Panthers got consecutive 3s from Maggie Larson and Katie Larson, but a late layup from Brooks made it 51-28 Waynflete heading for the fourth.

There, the Flyers finished it off.

A bank shot from Waynflete senior Ali Pope was countered by a free throw from Katie Larson and a layup by Hamblett off an inbounds pass from Tufts.

With 2:36 to go, Flyers freshman Anna Wildes scored on a leaner for her team’s final points.

In the final minute, Tufts made a layup after a steal and added a free throw and that brought the curtain down on Waynflete’s 55-34 triumph.

“We tried to bounce back from our tough loss against Yarmouth,” Giguere said. “We worked on being aggressive and having ball pressure.”

The Flyers had a lot of impressive statistics in the victory.

Brooks led all scorers with 16 points and she added 11 rebounds for a double-double. Giguere added 14 points, nine steals, three assists and three rebounds.

“For me, it’s more of a leadership role, being a captain,” said Giguere. “I’m taking more accountability for my actions and I hold other people accountable, which makes everyone better.”

“When Lydia and Annika are scoring, it only helps us,” said Jefferds. “Lydia’s taken her game to the next level. She’s worked her tail off. (Assistant coach Ron) Cote’s worked with her and it’s paid off. I’m excited for her. She leads by example.”

Boedeker had 10 points (and five boards), Olney finished with seven and Burdick had four points and also had eight assists, five rebounds and three steals.

“Izzy’s awesome,” Giguere said. “She’s so good at handling pressure.”

“Izzy’s our leader,” Jefferds said. “She’s not a stat sheet-stuffer, but she does the little things we need a point guard to do. She does a good job setting up the offense and communicating with me.”

Pope and Wildes both had two points.

Waynflete enjoyed a 36-25 rebounding advantage, overcame 24 turnovers and made 2 of 5 free throws.

NYA was paced by Katie Larson, who had 15 points.

“Katie doesn’t play like a freshman,” said Farrington. “She’s got no fear. For a freshman, she’s not worried.”

Maggie Larson, Plummer (five boards) and Tufts all had five points and Hamblett added four (to go with five rebounds and two steals).

“Helen does a little of everything for us,” Farrington said. “She’s a 5-11 forward and she can handle the ball well.”

The Panthers made 3 of 8 free throws and were doomed by 38 turnovers.

“I thought one of their biggest strengths is their fullcourt pressure and one of our biggest weaknesses this year is handling pressure,” said Farrington. “That’s not a good combination. We don’t have much depth. We turned the ball over and turnovers for layups really hurt.”

Looking ahead

NYA closes the 2016 portion of its schedule Thursday at Richmond.

“Richmond will be another tough one,” Farrington said. “They’re well-coached and they have a good team.”

The Panthers are very much on the right track.

“I feel good,” Farrington said. “The program has come leaps and bounds from where it was when I took it over last year. That’s all a credit to the kids. We just want to be better tomorrow than we are today and I hope that continues.”

Waynflete has a makeup game at Lake Region Wednesday, then is idle until the new year. The Flyers return to action Jan. 3 with a home game against Wells.

“I’m so excited,” Giguere said. “I think it’ll be a really good season. I can only see us going up from here. With our work ethic, we can go far.”

“It’s been kind of a whirlwind and the girls are ready for a break,” Jefferds said. “I love this team. They work hard for us. They’re a good group of girls. They have high aspirations and they’re willing to put the work in to reach those goals. That makes it fun as a coach.”