Windham High girls’ basketball turns in solid effort against Gorham

Windham varsity senior Sarah Talon gets above a Gorham
defender to take a shot at the basket during the Lady Eagles' 
home basketball opener on Dec. 10.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA   

By Matt Pascarella

Windham’s junior varsity and varsity girls’ basketball teams both put in solid efforts against Gorham in the home opener on Dec. 10. Both Windham teams fought hard to make up the difference in games where the Rams had pulled ahead early.

The varsity team had a better second half but eventually lost 66-47. The Lady eagles JV team improved as the game went on, but the Rams won by 61-7.

Varsity

Gorham pulled ahead early on. Windham was quick to get rebounds. A couple foul shots by senior Sarah Talon put Windham on the scoreboard.

The Lady Eagles were aggressive, but Gorham had a 10-point lead after one quarter.

Windham junior Elizabeth Levesque stole the ball from Gorham and passed to senior Carly Morey who put two more points on the scoreboard.

Once Windham gained momentum, they began to close the gap. They took multiple shots at the basket, but not everything fell. At the half, it was 43-19, Gorham.

In the first half I think we came out slow-ish,” said Levesque. “We wanted to adjust, and we knew we could come back and get better. I think we really worked hard defensively, like pushing the ball. We knew that Gorham could run, so we really hustled [in the second half].”

Although Gorham was still ahead in the second half, more Windham shots fell.

Windham senior Sarah Talon put 13 points on the scoreboard in the second half.  Windham kept up their efforts until the final buzzer.

Windham varsity girls’ basketball coach Brody Artes said the team pressured and moved the ball better defensively in the second half. Artes said they need to do a better job executing and focus on getting better.

Junior Varsity

Gorham took the lead early and although Windham tried hard, as they went after the ball and captured rebounds, they remained scoreless. Windham defense did tighten up on the Rams and allowed less points to be scored in the second quarter. At intermission, Gorham led 27-0.

Windham freshman Grace Joly said the third quarter was the team’s best because the team realized how much energy they needed to make baskets. They figured out their offense and had good passes and drives, plus good defensive stops.

Windham stayed with the ball in the second half. Freshman Afomiya Timerga put Windham on the scoreboard. The Lady Eagles continued to get rebounds, but Gorham pulled away. Joly scored twice plus sunk a foul shot in the third quarter. Windham did not get down on themselves and kept up their efforts until the end.

“I think the girls started to get a little bit more confident and a bit more comfortable in the second half,” said Windham JV girls’ basketball coach Gretchen Anderson. “For a lot of the girls this is their first high school experience [on the court]. I’m proud of the turnaround in the second half; we were able to push the ball a little bit more, keep within our offense and the girls stayed positive on the bench.” <