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March 2, 2019 · 10:52 pm

Bri Jordan leads Gray-New Gloucester to Class B title over Mount Desert Island

Bri Jordan (15 points) cuts between Alexis Clarito and Rachelle Swanson

Class B ending

Mandy Candage and Bri Jordan battle

(Portland ME) The Mount Desert Island band was incredible………..but I digress.

Senior Bri Jordan put Gray-New Gloucester in front with a triple midway through the first quarter and the Patriots were on their way to a, 43-30, Class B championship at the Cross Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Bri was the star for (20-2) GNG. She finished with fifteen points and eleven rebounds and was huge in the tense part of the fourth quarter when the Trojans (19-3) were within four (34-30) with 3:53 to go.

The MDI offense went totally dry the rest of the way.

Tight defense by Samantha Fortin on Olivia Gray.

“When we got within four, they hunkered down defensively,” said MDI coach Brent Barker afterwards. “We had some decent shots but just couldn’t make them.”

“Our defense was very good today,” said GNG coach Mike Andreasen. “To hold a strong team like MDI to thirty points is very good. Our offense came-and-went but our defense was consistently solid.”

A key matchup was Bri Jordan limiting Maddy Candage to only four points.

The Patriots’ offense not only missed a lot of shots, but they also turned the ball over at least twenty times.

“Our turnovers today hurt us,” said Coach Barker. “They capitalized on some of them.”

The team from Gray had a ten-point lead (32-22) early in the final quarter after a Bri Jordan layup.

Alexis Clarito cuts between Alexa Thayer and Bri Jordan

Credit the team from Bar Harbor. They didn’t pack it in. Instead, the Trojans put together their best collection of offense of the day. Four free throws (Mandy Candage), and layups by Rachelle Swanson and Alexis Clarito in a three-minute stretch and suddenly we had ourselves a ballgame!

But credit Gray-New Gloucester. They tossed a shutout the rest of the way and scored nine points.

“When they (MDI) got close we tried not to focus on the scoreboard,” explained senior Alexa Thayer.

“MDI never quits,” said Coach Andreasen. “They have four senior starters. Luckily, we withstood their best shot. It was pretty special.”

Jordan Grant had ten points for the Patriots. “We came out strong knowing that it would be a hard game. They are a good matchup for us. We had to play as a team and play to our advantages.”

Jordan Grant (10 points)

GNG had noticeable height advantages with Bri Jordan and Jordan Grant. “We’re not a huge team,” said Coach Barker. “Sometimes you can’t defend height.”

This was the Patriots second title in the last three years. “It’s an unbelievable feeling to win a championship,” said junior Jordan Grant. “My freshman year was the same way. It’s a feeling that you never want to stop happening.”

Coach Barker: “We tried to key defensively on two players (Bri Jordan & Jordan Grant) and force some other players to beat us. Those other players stepped up.”

Bri Jordan (commit to St. Joseph’s): “To be able to work with teammates and pull this off is awesome.”

Alexa Thayer: “It is so exciting. Being a senior, it’s really special to see my teammates come together like this.”

Alexa told me that she is going to attend Husson in the fall and major in occupational therapy.

Then there’s that MDI band! Those folks could play and everyone at Cross Arena on this afternoon would agree with me.

Gray-New Gloucester box

Mount Desert Island box

(All the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Alexa Thayer and Olivia Gray on the ball

Alexis Clarito out on fouls

Eliza Hotham passes

Leah Carroll

GNG presented with the gold ball

GNG raises the trophy

Hannah Chamberlain steal

Julia Watras looks to the hoop guarded by Jordan Grant

Mandy Candage guarded by Bri Jordan

MDI band

Trojan turnover

GNG with the gold ball

Gray-New Gloucester gets first win (2-1) on two Alexa Thayer goals vs Lake Region

Emma Woods (8) lines up a direct kick late in the game as Alexa Thayer (4) moves to the front of the net defended by Elaina Sturk (7)

The celebrating begins after the Patriots scored the go-ahead goal late in the game

(Naples ME) The Gray-New Gloucester Patriots came into their meeting with the Lake Region Lakers scoreless and winless after two starts.

That all changed versus LR as second-half goals by junior Alexa Thayer earned the visitors a 2-1 victory in a thunder-delayed game on Friday afternoon.

In a matchup of Class B South opponents, the Lakers scored early in the first half when

Neva Leavitt’s corner kick eludes goalie Chelsea Davis in the first half

GNG goalie Chelsea Davis mishandled Neva Leavitt’s corner kick. It was sophomore Neva’s 2^nd goal of the season.

The Patriots (1-2) controlled play during most of this contest relying on patient passing. LR took the long-ball approach.

By patient passing I mean being willing to pass the ball back and sideways not straight ahead. That patient approach set up numerous scoring chances but this was where Lakers GK Maddie Rock stood out denying several GNG point-blank attempts.

The home team held that 1-0 lead until Alexa Thayer responded to a rebound off an Emma Woods shot from the right side and tapped in the game-tying tally with 18:56 left in the second half. The Patriots were thereby able to end their scoreless streak at 222 minutes.

“We have been focusing on following up on rebounds,” said GNG’s 7^th year coach Kiaran McCormack afterwards. “You don’t score style points. If you can be there for a rebound two yards out it counts the same as a 20-yard rocket to the top corner.”

The Patriots pressure had led to several direct kicks during the game. On almost every occasion the kick had gone over or wide. Finally, late in this match, junior Emma Woods put a hard shot on net from straight away on a direct kick that turned up a juicy rebound for Alexa camped to GK Maddie Rock’s right. Alexa’s tap-in gave GNG the lead and was indeed the game-winner with only 2:28 left.

Alexa Thayer’s game-winner gets past LR goalie Maddie Rock

Neva Leavitt scored the Lakers goal on a corner kick in the first half

The game got off to an ominous start as the rumble of thunder forced a 30-minute delay. After that it was typical Maine weather: sunshine, clouds, sunshine, clouds, but in this section of Naples, no more rain.

I was most impressed with the way Gray-New Gloucester kept control of the ball. Their passing and dribbling forced LR to chase for a high percentage of the game. That can be tiring and it may have caught up to the Lakers in the end game.

Emma Woods was a standout in the center of the field for the Patriots. The senior took control of a number of goal kicks and was a skillful dribbler/passer. Emma also had assists on both goals.

The best player on the field? I would take junior Neva Leavitt of Lake Region (0-2). She beat defenders all game long with clever dribbling.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)