West stars sweep for 2nd year A-B team wins in OT; C-D squad edges East

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BANGOR – Some players were squaring off against former or future teammates.

Others suddenly were teammates with former rivals.

That’s all-star basketball, in this case the annual McDonald’s Senior All-Star basketball games played Saturday at Husson College’s Newman Gymnasium.

For the record, the West won both girls contests for the second straight year, edging the East 65-63 in an A-B contest decided in overtime and earning a 63-58 decision in the C-D matchup.

But while the atmosphere was competitive, it also was one of camaraderie.

“It was a lot of fun,” said West guard Emily Rousseau of Biddeford, one of three players in the girls A-B contest who will be teammates at the University of Maine next year, and one of several who have been teammates during the offseason in the New England Crusaders AAU program.

“A lot of the girls know each other and have played together before, so you talk to each other out there,” added Rousseau, who scored 22 points in a game in which neither team led by more than six points.

The West had that margin at 54-48 after back-to-back baskets by Melissa Small of Thornton Academy of Saco, but Hampden Academy’s Tanna Ross hit a 3-pointer and Messalonskee of Oakland’s Chelsea Barker fed Presque Isle’s Angela Norsworthy for a jumper and then made two free throws to rally the East to a 57-57 tie with 1:30 left in the 16-minute second half.

A steal by the West’s Abby Wentworth led to a Rousseau layup with 52 seconds left, but Barker’s spin move on the East’s next possession forced overtime.

Neither team led by more than two in the extra period, that coming when Christina Aceto of South Portland scored the game’s final points on two free throws with 18 seconds left.

Ross then missed a 3-pointer, and the East was unable to corral the offensive rebound before time expired.

Small added 16 points for the West, while Beth Fredette of Sanford scored nine.

Barker scored 20 points for the East, while center Christina Mosher of Mt. Blue of Farmington, who will join Rousseau and Ross at Maine, added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

In the C-D game, the shorter West team used its quickness to build an 11-point lead early in the second half, then withstood an East rally before securing control.

“They had a big team, so we just wanted to push and get the layups and easy shots that they aren’t going to be in position to block,” said University of Southern Maine-bound guard Kaylie DeMillo of Jay. She led the West with 18 points after winning the 3-point shooting contest held before the game.

The East trailed 32-25 at intermission and 36-25 after DeMillo made two free throws and and Katherine Gagne of Dirigo of Dixfield scored from the baseline to open the second half.

But 6-foot-6 center Mallory Ames of Dexter scored a pair of follow-up baskets as the East went on a 14-3 run to pull into a 39-39 tie on an inside shot by Washington Academy of East Machias’ Ashley Tilton with 7:14 left.

The West then countered with an 11-2 response that featured DeMillo in the open court.

She fed Cortney Barrett of Monmouth Academy for two layups, then hit a 3-pointer and one-timed in the miss of a fast-break layup to give the West a 50-41 cushion with 6:57 left.

The East rallied within 57-53 on baskets by Deanna Michaud of Stearns of Millinocket and Kellie Martel of Piscataquis of Guilford, but DeMillo set up Katie Pushard of Winthrop for a layup with a half-court pass, and followed with a 1-on-2 fast-break jumper to put the game away.

Rachel Ventrella of Livermore Falls added nine points for the West, which shot 10 of 13 from the free-throw line compared to 15 of 33 for the East.

Ames led the East with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Michaud scored 10 points.

In the free-throw shooting competition, Greely of Cumberland Center’s Megan McDevitt won with a 45-of-50 performance.

WEST A-B STARS 65, EAST 63 (OT)

West East

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Aceto 1 3 2 2 4 Barker 7 17 20

Fredette 2 9 0 2 6 Cooper 2 6 6

Kumka 3 9 0 0 9 Mosher 6 8 13

Leighton 1 7 0 1 2 Norswrthy 4 9

Mailo 0 2 0 0 0 K. Ross 0 7 0

Nagy 1 6 1 2 3 T. Ross 3 13 0 7

Rousseau 7 14 6 6 22 Sevey 0 0 0

Small 7 13 2 2 16 Violette 0 0

Wentworth 1 6 1 2 3 Welch 1 5 2

Smith 2 5 2 6

Totals 23 69 12 17 65 Totals 25 65 11 14 63

West 28 59 65

East 26 59 63

3-pt. goals – West (7-25): Kumka 3-7, Rousseau 2-4, Fredette 2-6, Small 0-1, Nagy 0-1, Aceto 0-2, Leighton 0-4; East (2-16): Barker 1-3, T. Ross 1-7, Mosher 0-1, Welch 0-1, K. Ross 0-4

WEST C-D STARS 63, EAST 58

West East

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Barrett 3 7 0 0 6 Ames 5 8 12

Breton 2 9 0 2 4 Cllinswrth 0 3

Daley 3 9 0 0 6 Hovey 2 11 7

DiMillo 7 16 2 2 18 Korhonen 1 4

Gagne 2 5 0 0 4 Lavertu 1 3 2

Hutchinsn 1 5 1 1 3 Martel 1 8 2

Pushard 2 5 2 2 7 Michaud 4 6 10

Ventrella 3 8 2 2 9 Poirier 2 4 7

Walker 1 2 0 0 3 Robinson 2 4

York 0 4 3 4 3 Tilton 3 4 1 7

Totals 24 70 10 13 63 Totals 21 61 15 33 58

West 32 63

East 25 58

3-pt. goals – West (5-18): DeMillo 2-8, Pushard 1-2, Walker 1-2, Ventrella 1-5, Daley 0-1; East (1-11): Michaud 1-1, Tilton 0-1, Collinsworth 0-2, Hovey 0-2, Martel 0-5