Her team had been eliminated, ousted by a 66-38 loss to Skowhegan that saw the deficit grow to as many as 36 points, but Nokomis girls basketball coach Michelle Paradis was upbeat in the moments afterward.
The present is over for the Warriors. But the future is bright.
Nokomis returns nine players for next year’s team, and some of the Warriors’ best performances Friday came from the ones who will be part of next year’s team. Maya Cooney, who led the team with 10 points, is a freshman. Maci Leali and Gabby Lord, who scored five points apiece, are juniors, while Lindsay Cote, who also added five, is a freshman.
“We’re still very young,” Paradis said. “And it was a good thing those young kids got on the floor, and played, and played good minutes.”
With the game out of reach, Nokomis’ young players got their chance to impress in the final minutes and made the most of it. The Warriors scored 14 of the game’s final 21 points, getting five from Cote and four from fellow freshman Alexys Mayhew, while Mayhew grabbed four rebounds in the fourth quarter alone. Freshmen scored the last 12 points of Nokomis’ 14 for the quarter, and did it on 5-of-9 shooting that included two 3-pointers.
“That whole group has been playing together for quite some time,” Paradis said. “It’s one thing to look forward to in the coming years.”
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The Islesboro girls had quite the adventure making the trek to the Augusta Civic Center for its Class D South quarterfinal game with Temple Academy.
The Eagles were scheduled to tip off at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning. However, the first ferry to the mainland was 7:30 a.m., meaning the team had to make other arrangements.
“We came down Friday and stayed in a hotel,” said sophomore guard Keisha Scott. “We left at 3:30 in the afternoon and got to Augusta around, I think, 5:30.”
After reaching the mainland in Lincolnville, the Eagles faced an hour-long drive to Augusta.
“Yeah, it was long,” Scott said, “but we had a lot of support. It was fun.”
• • •
Skyler Archer’s transition from basketball player to basketball coach, in just one year, went more smoothly than he expected.
“I thought it would be more difficult going into it, with how young I am and what their ages are,” Archer, 19, said after his Seacoast Christian team beat Forest Hills in the Class D South boys quarterfinals. “But they have a matter of respect for me, and I have respect for them. They’ve made it easier for me to coach.”
Archer was a player for the Guardians last season in the D South tournament.
Veteran Forest Hills coach Anthony Amero also started his coaching career when he was 19 — though under very different circumstances.
“It was a middle school girls team, not varsity,” Amero said. “He does a great job with his kids. He’s mature beyond his years. He relates to the kids, obviously.”
• • •
The Greenville boys basketball team is making a home for itself at the Augusta Civic Center.
After winning three games at the arena en route to the D state final last year, coach William Foley made sure his team would stay acclimated to the surroundings. The Lakers played two games in Augusta in the summer and then played two Maine Athletic Club games in the fall, getting more valuable experience in a setting in which Foley knew they’d have to be comfortable.
“It’s just another court now to them,” he said. “It’s critical that we get in here and get all the kids on the floor so they’re nice and relaxed when we do get here when it counts.”
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