Upset keeps FA girls in hunt

By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer FRYEBURG — Kristen

Stacy had a bad feeling as her Raiders made the long road trip to Wells last week.

The Raiders had a “difficult” practice Wednesday, and when they took the court the next day, the energy level was low.

“They out rebounded us and played with heart. We played flat but still fought till the last second,” said Coach Stacy on Fryeburg’s 60-33 loss to the Warriors. “We did not put our heads down and felt sorry for ourselves. We just didn’t come with the FA energy that we play with when we are successful. Wells is a very respectable team, well coached and well organized. It was a huge learning experience for us and helped us realize how important practices are to prepare.”

Lesson, indeed, learned.

The Raiders used the Wells’ loss as big time motivation the next time they stepped onto the court. They didn’t have to wait long for a chance at redemption. The Raiders returned to action the next night, facing a very difficult road challenge against the second-ranked Gray-New Gloucester (133) Patriots.

“GNG is an extremely strong and chippy team,” Coach Stacy said.

And, the Raiders never backed down. Center Mina Milosevic scored 25 points and helped the Raiders pull away by making her foul shots (8-of-12 for the game) in overtime as Fryeburg upset the Patriots 53-48.

“Mina finished out the fourth quarter and overtime with four fouls. She played smart D,” Coach Stacy said.

Milosevic hauled down 18 rebounds, blocked two shots and dished out three assists as the Raiders (7-10) remained in the tournament talk by capturing a boat load of tourney points with the victory.

“Carla (Pintor) out worked her opponents fighting for every rebound, jump ball and pulling up for quick jumpers in the paint,” Coach Stacy said. “We were able to break their press and see open passes up the floor quickly to score some key quick layups.”

Jilyan Byrne netted 11 points and collected 7 rebounds, while Sydney Shaw chipped in 7 points and 6 assists, and Celia Hernandez had 4 points.

Points were hard to come by in the opening quarter as the Raiders led 6-4 on buckets by Shaw and two by Milosevic. GNG barely

Hoop scoreboard

GRAY-NG 72, RAIDERS 47 Fryeburg Academy never got out of the blocks as Gray-New Gloucester sprinted out to a 24-9 lead last Friday night at Wadsworth Arena and bolted to a lopsided victory.

The fast-paced, highpowered Patriots (13-3) kept their foot on the pedal outscoring the Raiders 18-9 and 21-17 in the middle frames as Nathaniel Hebert knocked down five 3-pointers on his way to a gamehigh 21 points.

Joao Orlando and Gunnar Saunders were the lone Raiders (9-8) to reach dou- ble digits, scoring 15 and 12 points respectively. Bryce Richardson chipped in 5 points, Camden Johnson 4, Idan Or 4, Jordan Dutton 2, Jagger Helwig 2, Geri Daiu 2, and Lorenzo Vallemani 1. The Raiders closed out the regular season yesterday at Freeport (4-13). Then, it’s off to Class A South tourney play at the Banks Exposition Building in Portland, opponent unknown at press time.

YARMOUTH 53, LAKERS 43

Following a road loss Friday at Yarmouth, Lake Region will decide whether they head to the Class B HOOPS, Page 5A won the second quarter, 16-15 as Milosevic hit for 12 points including a pair of 3-pointers.

FA took a 34-30 lead into the fourth quarter. Ali Portas sank a pair of 3-pointers as GNG forced overtime.

The Raiders prevailed in OT by going 5-of-8 from the foul line as Milosevic went 3-for-4 and Bryne was 2-for-2.

“The real story was our resilience and strength in this game. With Alysa (Grawe) out for the seasons due to a knee injury, I only subbed twice throughout the entire game, so my starting five — Mina, Sydney, Jilyan, Carla and Celia — played almost an entire 36 minutes of very aggressive basketball and walked away with a win in an extremely tough environment,” Coach Stacy said.

So, it now comes down to Game 18. At 10-7, Westbrook (at press time Wednesday) holds the final playoff spot with a tourney index of 51.314. Fryeburg is just on the outside looking in on the playoffs. At 7-10, the Raiders hold a tourney index of 48.135.

Fryeburg hosted Freeport Wednesday (after the BN went to press). A win over the 9-8 Falcons, owners of 10 tourney points, and a loss tonight by Westbrook against Marshwood (12-5), the Raiders make the tourney. A loss by the Raiders or a Westbrook win eliminates FA. Who advances? It all rests in the Raiders’ and Blazers’ hands.

Johnson shoots during home hoop action. The Raiders closed out the regular season yesterday, and now eye the playoffs.