FARMINGTON — A rare breakdown in the Mt. Blue defense left Gardiner’s Lauren Chadwick wide open near the top of the key midway through the third quarter of Tuesday night’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A clash.
Not surprisingly, the sweet-shooting junior knocked down the 3-pointer to pull the Tigers within 11. Cougars coach Gavin Kane immediately called a timeout and reminded his players that a lot of hard work on the defensive end of the floor could go by the wayside quickly if they continued to have such lapses.
The Cougars took Kane’s challenge to heart and limited the Tigers to just 10 points and three field goals the rest of the way to pull away for their first win of the season, 50-31.
Caitlyn Kane scored 14 points and Eryn Doiron added 12 to lead Mt. Blue (1-1). Chadwick finished with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals to lead the Tigers (1-1).
“We were talking a lot more than in the first game,” Doiron said. “Obviously, we want all of our games but I think after that one-point loss we were, like, ‘today’s the day we’re going to get a win’ and coach told us to do that we need to get stops.”
The Cougars were tough to stop during a 13-4 run in the second quarter. They made five of their first six shots, capped by a 3-pointer from Doiron that put them up 24-14.
“We really came together in the second quarter, definitely better than last game,” Caitlin Kane said. “We were definitely more composed and connected on the floor.”
“We did a much better job executing in the halfcourt offensively, especially compared to opening night,” added Kane, whose team fell to Nokomis, 46-45. “We really didn’t play with a clear mind offensively and weren’t that composed against Nokomis. I thought we did a much better job tonight.”
Mt. Blue led by eight at the half, then scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half to take a 32-18 lead. Chadwick then hit her first 3-pointer of the game to briefly shift momentum back in Gardiner’s favor and force Kane’s timeout.
“We changed up defensively and played a little zone right there, but obviously, in our scouting report she was, along with (Gardiner junior Mary) Toman, who we needed to pay attention to at the offensive end,” Gavin Kane said.
Chadwick scored twice more from closer range over the rest of the quarter, but the Cougars maintained their 11-point lead heading into the fourth.
Doiron, Emilee Eustis and Kane teamed up to hold Chadwick to no field goals and one free throw the rest of the game.
“Our guards did a good job on her,” Caitlin Kane said. “We didn’t have to help too much.”
Doiron’s three-point play and five Gardiner turnovers in the first three minutes of the fourth helped the open the cushion up to 16 midway through the period. The Cougars limited the Tigers to four points in the fourth.
“I thought we had looks, but they play tough D,” Gardiner coach Mike Gray said. “As I was telling my girls, that’s a team with a lot of experience at every position. We had chances but we didn’t execute, and that’s where I think that (experience is) the difference.”
Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638
rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @RAWmaterial33
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