Cony’s Rende still making right choices

Briiana Rende had just a few seconds to make a decision to pass or shoot.

In this situation – less than 10 seconds left in the third quarter of Monday’s Eastern Maine Class A final – the Cony senior point guard tried both.

First, Rende passed the ball from the top of the key to the left wing, where teammate Natalie Nimon was standing.

Then, when Nimon passed the ball back to her, Rende tried her other option. She shot the ball with less than a second left, the 3-pointer went in, and the Rams of Augusta had a 14-point lead going into the final quarter of the game.

It would turn out to be a key play as Cony went on to win its ninth Eastern Maine title 65-48.

“When the clock winds down, we usually put the ball in her hands and we ask her to create,” Cony coach Paul Vachon said. “She’ll either shoot it or dish it off and we’ll get a layup. In that case, Bri, with her experience, knew time was running out and let it go. Thank God it went in for us.”

One of seven seniors on this year’s undefeated Ram team, Rende will help lead Cony as it faces Western Maine champ McAuley of Portland tonight at 7:05 in the Bangor Auditorium.

The Rams advanced Monday, thanks in no small part to Rende’s 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. She was named to the all-tourney team for the second time.

Rende, who transferred to Cony from Boothbay before her sophomore year, has seen her role change over the years.

As a sophomore, she started alongside All-Maine senior guards Ashley Underwood and Karen Sirois. Rende was expected to play defense and not worry as much about scoring. In her junior year, she took over the point guard role and was expected to handle the ball and run the offense, play defense, and again not worry too much about scoring.

This year, she’s still running the offense and playing defense. Her scoring has gone up to complement everything else.

“This year I’ve gotten more comfortable with myself and now everybody’s starting to score,” she said. “I can be an offensive threat if I have to. Plus Katie [Rollins] and Cassie [Cooper] and [Rachael Mack] pass the ball really well, so we’re getting more points. It’s working out pretty good.”

Vachon said Rende has adjusted well to all the changes.

“At times it’s been difficult for her to figure out when to go and when not to go and I think she did a great job of that Monday,” he said. “As the year’s gone on, she’s done a better job.”

Vachon considers Rende to be his top defender because of her stamina. In fact, with Rende he can do something he hasn’t done much over the years – allow her to handle the ball and then turn around and guard the opposition’s ballhandler.

Rende did just that Monday, running the Cony offense and then playing physical defense on Skowhegan point guard Nicole Paradis, also a KVAC first-teamer. Rende’s backcourt mate, senior Amanda Mason, shut down Skowhegan’s other standout guard, Bethany Sevey.

“That’s what’s so neat about Bri,” Vachon said. “I’ve had a lot of great point guards, but we couldn’t put them on the other team’s best ballhandler. For some reason, she has a lot of stamina. The defense she plays and handling the ball is something you don’t see very often.”

The Rams are, of course, happy Rende landed at Cony. When the Rende family moved to Augusta a few years ago, Rende and her sister Margaret, who is injured, had a choice about where to go to school.

It was an easy decision. Rende’s father, Nate Rende, is a mid-1970s Cony graduate and former Rams football and baseball player, and Briiana Rende had attended Vachon’s summer basketball camp for several years.

“I already knew some people here, so it made sense,” Rende said.

Rende received two college acceptance letters Monday, just a few hours before the Rams beat the Indians. One was from Div. II New Haven, the other from Div. III Salve Regina. No matter where she winds up, she’ll play basketball.

But before that, Rende and the rest of the seven Cony seniors would love to win the state title that’s eluded them in the two years they’ve been in the championship game.

“It seems like the perfect way to end,” she said. “We’ve worked hard and done this well, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to finish it off the way we want to.”