The Windham Youth Basketball Association’s (WYBA) fourth-grade boys and eighth-grade girls travel teams both made it to the Southern Maine Hoops League Championship played at The Maine Basketball Academy in Portland on Friday, Feb. 10 and didn’t go home disappointed.
Windham’s eighth-grade girls’ team came from behind to surpass Gardiner in the second half and won, 25-23, in a thriller. And once the Windham fourth-grade boys’ squad grabbed the lead from TGK Athletics Saco in their title game, they held on to win the championship, 22-13.
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| Windham fourth-grader Kody Freese holds onto the ball as he turns toward the hoop in the Southern Maine Hoops League Championship Game at The Maine Basketball Academy in Portland on Friday, Feb. 10. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA |
Windham began with intensity, but had a slow start and Gardiner took a big lead in the first half. Windham grabbed rebounds and fought, as they worked to gain on Gardiner. Gardiner led 13-10 midway through.
In the second half, Windham closed the gap and tied the game at 15. From then on, it was a very close game. Windham tied the game at 20. Denali Momot sunk a three-pointer to give Windham a one-point lead.
Momot said she tried not to get too excited as she knew the game wasn’t over until the buzzer. It felt great to get in the lead with so little time left.
Momot is proud of everyone on the team for not giving up; they worked hard all season, and this is well deserved. It feels great to be champions and Coach Ben played a big role in helping them get there.
With the clock winding down, Isabella Vassoler made the game-winning basket.
“I was so nervous,” said Vassoler. “I thought I was going to miss it, that was very scary for me.”
Vassoler said it was defense and team attitude that enabled them to come back and win it all. She said passing went well, fewer turnovers, less fouling. She’s excited to be champions.
WYBA eighth-grade girls’ Coach Ben Delewski said they did not have an easy path to get here, but Windham played a lot of strong teams in the playoffs and got past them all. Delewski said they were able to win because of defense, grit and rebounds.
Fourth Grade
"It was just a full team effort,” said WYBA fourth-grade boys’ coach Joe McLean. “They ran through the offense well and set good screens, good cuts – they really have gelled throughout the year. They did an amazing job on defense and held TGK to 5 points in the second half.”
Windham defense kept TGK Athletics scoreless. Windham grabbed rebounds and the game was close in the first half. Windham had great hustle. After being fouled, Kody Freese edged Windham ahead. At halftime, Windham remained ahead, 11-8.
There was no lack of intensity in the second half. TGK Athletics tightened the game, but Windham did not let up until that final buzzer. Windham continued to expand their lead. With 50 seconds left, Windham led by 6; TGK Athletics was unable to catch up.
“It feels really good,” said Joel Delewski. “It took a lot of effort and people working really hard. Our defense won us the game because our offense at times wasn’t the best. I’m really glad we got here.” <
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