Brunswick defeats Gray-New Gloucester in physical matchup
The Brunswick Dragons defeated the Gray-New Gloucester Patriots 42-26 this Tuesday evening.
This year Class A-girls is highly competitive, in the North and the South. GNG sits at second with a record of 6-1. The Patriots lost to the Mt.Ararat Eagles, who are ranked first, by just six points in their second game of the season. Junior forward, Izzy Morelli, has been scoring extensively for GNG. Morelli works in and out of the post, scoring from the elbow and off of her drives to the paint.
The feisty Brunswick Dragons have a record of 5-1 and are in fourth place with their only loss being at the hands of the Oxford Hills Vikings. Dakota Shipley, a Senior forward, is at the head of the Dragon’s offense. Though, Shipley isn’t the only one to watch out for. Other scorers such as Junior guard Lexi Morin and Senior forward Maddy Werner, make Brunswick a tough team to guard.
The Patriots were flustered early in the game due to the Dragon’s trapping-focused defense. Werner excelled on the boards both ends of the court, gathering offensive rebounds. Scoring the first basket for Brunswick, Werner faked to the baseline and hit a hook in the middle of the key at 6:30. With three minutes left in quarter, Brunswick put on a full-court press furthering their lead 9-2. But, Morelli hit a three deep into the first quarter, fueling her team to make a considerable comeback. Up 11-9, Shipley took the ball the length of the court for a wide open layup with five seconds to go. The Dragons led 13-9 at the end of the first.
Both teams got multiple chances to score on the o-boards as most players neglected to box out underneath. GNG put more physical pressure on Werner on the block, causing her to rack up some fouls. Down by one point, Patriot Senior guard, Alexandra Portas took the lead with a putback layup on which she got fouled. She hit the bonus putting GNG up 15-13. However, Shipley made another wide open layup to tie the game 15-15 with five minutes left in the half. After a lot of lead changes, Freshman forward Julianna Morin blew past a Patriot on the arch, leaving her on the ground. Morin made the layup putting Brunswick up 24-17 at the half.
GNG came out of the locker room with one thing in mind- defense. Laney Farrar, a Junior guard for the Patriots, was highly effective when pressuring the ball. She caused several turnovers for Brunswick due to her fast hands and unapologetic aggressiveness. Bodies flying onto the floor caused the coaches and crowd to question the referee’s calls extensively. But, it gave the players a chance to compete in a physically taxing game, and they were ready for it. The Patriots were making a terrific comeback in the last few minutes of the third quarter. With seven seconds to go Portas stuck a three from the baseline cutting the Dragon’s lead to three. Brunswick took the quarter 26-23.
The Dragons and the Patriots remained scoreless in their first few possessions of the final quarter. Causing turnover after turnover, Brunswick regained the ball four times in a row from their competitors with five minutes left. At the four minute mark, Shipley put up a drop-step move over two defenders awarding her with two free throws. She cashed both of them giving the Dragons a ten point lead at 33-23. The Patriots finally put on a full-court press with a few minutes to go, however, this left Werner open for long-ball layups. Morelli worked on her own driving through the paint trying to score, but to no avail. The Dragons furthered their lead as the clock ran out making the final score 42-26.
Both teams compete again this week on Thursday, January 4th. Brunswick will face Mt.Ararat in Topsham while GNG will play at Falmouth.
