Plourde provides Searsport a spark

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SEARSPORT – The Searsport basketball team had practiced for its matchup against Bangor Christian Tuesday night. But the Vikings weren’t exactly prepared for the triangle-and-2 defense with which the Patriots opened the game.

That’s where Jessica Plourde stepped in.

With top scorers Holly Gracie and Brittany Smith tightly guarded for the first quarter, the Vikes gave the ball to Plourde. The junior responded with a nine-point period and 19 points in the game as Searsport rolled to an impressive 72-32 victory over Bangor Christian at the high school gym.

Gracie led the Vikings (now 10-2) with 23 points, including a 10-for-12 shooting effort. She scored 12 in the third quarter as the Patriots switched to a man-to-man defense.

Searsport prepared for Tuesday’s game expecting the Patriots to play a straight zone, which was what they had played in a early-season game. Instead, Gracie was a bit thrown off by the defense with BC’s Heidi Mead guarding her (Heather Niles was on Smith).

“At the beginning it was kind of a shock because we thought they’d play the same defense,” Gracie said. “We practiced all day for a 2-3 and then they come out and do something totally different. But we just had to keep running our plays and moving the ball. We dealt with it pretty good.”

Searsport coach Herman Paul said it made sense to try the gimmick defense against the Vikes.

“The last time we played them Holly had 25 and Brittany had seven, and our other high scorer was eight,” he said. “So why not try a triangle-and-2 against us until one of these girls prove they can shoot? Jessie Plourde, they were letting her shoot, and she had nine in the first quarter.”

Early in the game Bangor Christian was able to respond to Plourde on the other end and the teams traded baskets and got to an 8-8 tie with three minutes left in the first quarter. That didn’t last long, however, as Plourde stuck a mid-range jumper with 2:56 to go in the period, giving Searsport the lead for good. Gracie completed a conventional 3-point play for a 13-8 lead and after BC’s Emily Jenkins made two free throws, Plourde hit a 3-pointer with less than two seconds left for a 16-10 lead.

“We have five good shooters on our team so it doesn’t matter who they guard,” Plourde said. “We can just try our best to get around [the defense].”

The Vikings outscored the Patriots 17-4 and allowed just one field goal in the second quarter.

Searsport’s 6-foot-1 Pauline Vasiliauskas had eight rebounds and Lindsey Seekins chipped in with 13 points (she made 4-of-5 field-goal attempts). As a team Searsport shot a solid 31-for-63 (49.2 percent) from the field and hit six of eight 3-point attempts.

The Vikes’ defense clicked, too. They pressed early, forcing 16 first-half turnovers, and also played a 2-3 zone to keep Bangor Christian’s taller forwards from getting the ball.

“Our passing was what got us in trouble,” Bangor Christian coach Craig Miller said. “[Turnovers] took us out of the game. Our passes weren’t crisp enough and the guards didn’t work it inside. …We let [Plourde] shoot and she burned us.”

Six-foot Pam Reitsma and 5-11 Emily Jenkins each put in 10 points and rebounded well for the Patriots (7-6). Reitsma finished with a game-high 14 rebounds and Jenkins, who also started the junior varsity game, had 10 in her second-ever varsity start.

VIKINGS 72, PATRIOTS 32

Bangor Christian (7-6) Searsport (10-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Page 1 10 0 0 2 Gracie 10 12 1 23

Layton 0 0 0 0 0 Smith 2 9 4

Mead 3 7 0 0 7 Webster 0 2 0 0

Elliott 0 1 1 2 1 Seekins 4 5 13

Niles 1 8 0 0 2 Plourde 9 17 19

Jenkins 3 8 4 6 10 Shute 1 1 2

Seymour 0 4 0 0 0 Hall 0 4 0

French 0 1 0 0 0 Carroll 1 4 2

Snow 0 3 0 0 0 Vasiliauskas 2 5 4

Reitsma 4 11 2 4 10 Wilson 2 4 5

Totals 12 53 7 12 32 31 63 72

Bangor Christian 10 14 21 32

Searsport 16 33 54 72

3-pt. goals: Bangor Christian (1-8): Mead 1-2, Seymour 0-1, Niles 0-2, Page 0-3; Searsport (6-8): Gracie 2-2, Seekins 2-2, Wilson 1-1, Plourde 1-2, Webster 0-1

Attendance: 250 (est.)

Preliminary: Searsport JVs 52-35