WASHBURN, Maine – With just 26 seconds left on the clock in overtime, Washburn’s Alex Bird drove the lane and pulled up for the short jumper to put the Lady Beavers ahead 36-35 against the Limestone Community School/Maine School of Science and Mathematics girls’ varsity basketball team on Wednesday. The Lady Eagles got one final possession, but Bird stole the inbounds pass and found Sarah Davis under the basket to seal the 38-35 win.
“We just knew that we had to get the shots off and get points, so we passed and ran a fast break as best we could,” Davis said.
The Lady Beavers found themselves down early in the extra period when Limestone’s Melanie Allen pulled down a rebound and sent a long pass ahead to Julie Peers. The Eagle’s inside threat put in the layup to give Limestone/MSSM a 33-31 lead with 2:18 remaining.
Washburn found the answer though in their own inside threat, Rachel Palmer. The Lady Beavers took 20 seconds off the clock, running a quick offense and finding Palmer inside for the turnaround jumper.
Allen came back, driving the lane to get the bucket and the foul to put the Lady Eagles up by two and Palmer grabbed the rebound on the missed free throw.
Washburn got two chances at a quick offense, but Limestone/MSSM held their opponents to just one point on a free throw and maintained a fragile 35-34 lead.
With 1:30 to play, the Lady Eagles looked to knock time off the clock and held the ball forcing Washburn to foul.
Two missed free throws gave the Lady Beavers the final possession with 26 seconds left as McDougall pulled down the board to set up the winning shot by Bird.
“We knew we had to get it inside to Kelsee McLaughlin and Rachel Palmer,” Davis said. “We were just trying to bother the ball and not foul people so we could get the ball back and make shots.”
Limestone/MSSM opened a 15-11 lead in the first half behind a zone defense. The team opened with a 3-2 zone but switched to 1-3-1 to help collapse the pocket on Washburn’s inside tandem.
Washburn also kept the inside lanes quiet, forcing the Lady Eagles to shoot long distance. Limestone/MSSM went 0-for-8 from the perimeter in the first half and hit two of 17 attempts on the evening.
“We just had to come out on their three-point shooters when they came off the pick,” Davis said.
The teams went back and forth through the third quarter, but the Lady Eagles maintained their distance behind the inside work of Peers and Lauren Redmond. Limestone/MSSM opened up a five-point lead on a last second shot by Kellie Peers, but the Lady Beavers were far from out of it.
Shots by McDougall and Bird put the team within one with 4:25 remaining and a full-court trap forced a turnover and two steals.
Both teams went on a two-minute scoring drought before McLaughlin tied the game, forcing an inside shot and drawing a foul.
With time in regulation waning the teams traded missed baskets and Palmer pulled down a defensive rebound to give Washburn a final possession. McDougall pulled down an offensive board off a missed three attempt and got the layup to go for the tie. McLaughlin stole the inbounds pass and fed it to Bird for the game-winner, which popped out to send the game to overtime where the Lady Beavers pulled out the win.
“We just needed to get back into the game, get excited and pumped up,” Davis said. “We had to work harder than we did in the first half and make sure we used our whole team and our speed.”
McLaughlin led Washburn in scoring with 14 points followed by McDougall and Bird with seven each. Palmer dominated the boards with 15 rebounds.
Julie Peers led Limestone/MSSM with 12 points followed by Kellie Peers and Allen with six each. The Lady Beavers improve to 6-5 on the season and jump from sixth to second in Eastern Maine Class D girls’ basketball.
Washburn moves on to face Easton Friday at 5:30 p.m. and will host Ashland Monday night at 7.
“We just knew that we had to get the shots off and get points, so we passed and ran a fast break as best we could,” Davis said.
The Lady Beavers found themselves down early in the extra period when Limestone’s Melanie Allen pulled down a rebound and sent a long pass ahead to Julie Peers. The Eagle’s inside threat put in the layup to give Limestone/MSSM a 33-31 lead with 2:18 remaining.
Washburn found the answer though in their own inside threat, Rachel Palmer. The Lady Beavers took 20 seconds off the clock, running a quick offense and finding Palmer inside for the turnaround jumper.
Allen came back, driving the lane to get the bucket and the foul to put the Lady Eagles up by two and Palmer grabbed the rebound on the missed free throw.
Washburn got two chances at a quick offense, but Limestone/MSSM held their opponents to just one point on a free throw and maintained a fragile 35-34 lead.
With 1:30 to play, the Lady Eagles looked to knock time off the clock and held the ball forcing Washburn to foul.
Two missed free throws gave the Lady Beavers the final possession with 26 seconds left as McDougall pulled down the board to set up the winning shot by Bird.
“We knew we had to get it inside to Kelsee McLaughlin and Rachel Palmer,” Davis said. “We were just trying to bother the ball and not foul people so we could get the ball back and make shots.”
Limestone/MSSM opened a 15-11 lead in the first half behind a zone defense. The team opened with a 3-2 zone but switched to 1-3-1 to help collapse the pocket on Washburn’s inside tandem.
Washburn also kept the inside lanes quiet, forcing the Lady Eagles to shoot long distance. Limestone/MSSM went 0-for-8 from the perimeter in the first half and hit two of 17 attempts on the evening.
“We just had to come out on their three-point shooters when they came off the pick,” Davis said.
The teams went back and forth through the third quarter, but the Lady Eagles maintained their distance behind the inside work of Peers and Lauren Redmond. Limestone/MSSM opened up a five-point lead on a last second shot by Kellie Peers, but the Lady Beavers were far from out of it.
Shots by McDougall and Bird put the team within one with 4:25 remaining and a full-court trap forced a turnover and two steals.
Both teams went on a two-minute scoring drought before McLaughlin tied the game, forcing an inside shot and drawing a foul.
With time in regulation waning the teams traded missed baskets and Palmer pulled down a defensive rebound to give Washburn a final possession. McDougall pulled down an offensive board off a missed three attempt and got the layup to go for the tie. McLaughlin stole the inbounds pass and fed it to Bird for the game-winner, which popped out to send the game to overtime where the Lady Beavers pulled out the win.
“We just needed to get back into the game, get excited and pumped up,” Davis said. “We had to work harder than we did in the first half and make sure we used our whole team and our speed.”
McLaughlin led Washburn in scoring with 14 points followed by McDougall and Bird with seven each. Palmer dominated the boards with 15 rebounds.
Julie Peers led Limestone/MSSM with 12 points followed by Kellie Peers and Allen with six each. The Lady Beavers improve to 6-5 on the season and jump from sixth to second in Eastern Maine Class D girls’ basketball.
Washburn moves on to face Easton Friday at 5:30 p.m. and will host Ashland Monday night at 7.
