OLD TOWN, Maine- Paige St. Pierre knocked down two free throws with 2.9 seconds left Friday night, lifting the Waterville Purple Panthers to a 44-42 win over the Old Town Coyotes in a Class B North girls basketball game played at MacKenzie Gymnasium.
The visiting Purple Panthers started quickly as Sadie Garling started off the game with a wide open layup off the tip, and then St. Pierre stole an inbounds pass for a quick hoop as Waterville (4-1) built early six point leads of 9-3 and 11-5. Old Town (3-2) stayed right in it though helped by a pair of three-pointers from sophomore guard Madelynn Emerson and the Coyotes trailed just 15-13 after one quarter. The hosts scored the first five points of the second quarter for an 18-15 lead, before Waterville tied the game late in the quarter. A jumper from just outside the foul line though by the Coyotes Hannah Richards with three seconds to go had Old Town up 23-21 at halftime. Richards had six in the second stanza.
Waterville controlled the third quarter after an Old Town basket gave the Coyotes their biggest lead of the night at four, led by Maddie Martin who put the Purple Panthers back in the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a three-pointer to cap off a quick 5-0 run to make it 26-25. Martin had seven of her team high 12 points in the quarter as Waterville looked to be in control leading 34-28 headed to the fourth. “Maddie did step up, Maddie is a big time player”, said head coach Rob Rodrique. The visitors then had their biggest lead at 37-30 before the Coyotes made their final run. Helped by three-point baskets from Richards and Emerson Old Town cut it to 39-36, and after Waterville made it six again at 42-36 the hosts would score six straight to tie it. Another basket by Richards and two by Lexi Thibodeau, the second one to tie it 42-42 came when Richards airballed her shot but followed it and saved it inbounds to Thibodeau for a wide open lay up with 1:50 to go. Old Town had the ball with 1:05 left and a chance to go ahead, but Sydney Loring missed a three-point attempt and the ball went out of bounds with 28 seconds remaining. The Purple Panthers called a timeout to try and set up a final play with 19.9 seconds showing on the clock. Jayda Murray found Garling open for a corner three-point attempt with eight seconds left but she missed. St. Pierre got the rebound weak side and backed into the lane with the dribble and was fouled going up for a shot attempt. The junior guard calmly sank both free throws, and with only seconds left Richards took the inbounds pass and heaved a shot from three quarters court that came up short as time expired.
Rodrique added, “We got in foul trouble early, had a hot start but then those fouls starting to add up. I am proud the way my kids battled the whole first half, and then in the second half we talked about having to defend without fouling and they did a great job with that”. On the St. Pierre clutch foul shots he said, “She’s done that before, believe it or not. What I really liked was her ability to go get the ball. We talked in the timeout about making sure we shoot it with enough time to get a put back. Great execution by our kids. That is one thing I enjoy about Paige is she is so athletic, and once she plays at a high level she is pretty tough to stop and just another piece that we have”.
Martin had eight rebounds and two blocks in the win as well for Waterville. St. Pierre finished with nine points, while Murray had seven. Lindsey Given, Garling, and Kali Thompson all chipped in four with Thompson adding seven rebounds off the bench. Kiera Gilman and Gabbie Maines each had two points. Thibodeau led Old Town with a game high 13 points and five rebounds. Richards had 11. Emerson added nine points, four rebounds, and two assists. Loring also put in five points, Claudia Damboise had three, and Gabriel Cody also had one point. The Purple Panthers were clutch at the line only missing one on the night, while the Coyotes missed seven. Next up Waterville will host Winslow Monday night, while Old Town will visit Houlton next Friday.
WAT (4-1) 15 6 13 10- 44
OTH (3-2) 13 10 5 14- 42
Waterville (44)
Martin 5-0-12, St Pierre 3-3-9, Murray 3-1-7, Thompson 2-2-4, Given 2-0-4, Garling 2-2-4, Gilman 1-0-2, Maines 0-2-2, Saucier
Rebounds: 21/Three point goals: Martin 2/ Free throws: 10-11 (91%)/Turnovers: 14
Old Town (42)
Thibodeau 6-1-13, Richards 5-0-11, Emerson 3-0-9, Loring 2-1-5, Damboise 1-1-3, Cody 0-1-1
Rebounds: 17/Three point goals: Emerson 3, Richards/Free throws: 4-11 (36.4%)/Turnovers: 17
