Bird, Pandas shut down Blue Devils

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LEE – Just about the only thing different was the uniforms.

The Lee girls basketball team made its 2007-08 season debut Saturday, unveiling its new home white uniforms after years of gray.

But the Pandas put the same starting five on the Mallett Gymnasium floor as last season.

And once again, that meant trouble for the opposition as Lee limited Calais to 12 points in the first half and got a game-high 18 points from Karin Bird in a 62-32 victory over the Blue Devils.

As if the defending Class D state champion Pandas needed it, the win was a good sign in their move up to Eastern Maine Class C this season. The Blue Devils were the EM Class C runners-up last year.

“Just like in soccer, we’re moving up to Class C and we don’t want anyone to think we were good just because we were in Class D,” said Bird, who started in goal this fall for the Eastern Maine Class C soccer champions. “We wanted to start out our Class C schedule with a win.”

Both teams started Saturday’s game slowly – Lee missed shots early and Calais struggled with turnovers – but eventually the Pandas got their shots to fall.

Bird had four of her points in the first quarter while Aarika Ritchie (11 points, seven rebounds) and Brooke Harris each hit a 3-pointer to help Lee take an 18-6 lead.

Lee really got things going in the second quarter, forcing seven turnovers and outscoring Calais 16-6. The Blue Devils didn’t score until Courtney Hill made two out of three free-throw attempts with 4:40 left.

Calais got its first and only field goal of the quarter, a Hill pull-up jumper, with 1:35 remaining.

“I thought we did a good job defensively to hold them to 12 points in the first half,” Lee coach Ron Weatherbee said. “We got up into some passing lanes, didn’t get into big foul trouble.”

Pandas senior Amanda Gifford made her only two baskets in the first 1:06 of the period.

Gifford had a quiet night – likely by her standards, anyway – but did have six rebounds and was key in distributing the ball as the Pandas showed patience on offense, waiting for looks inside or open shots on the perimeter. Not all of those fell early, but Lee finished with a 24-for-49 (48.9 percent) shooting performance.

“We’ve been working on that in practice, just going through the plays and not doing something with the first pass,” Bird said. “We have to let [the play] work itself out.”

Aside from the three Lee players in double-digits, every Panda player but one had at least two points.

“I don’t think we have a problem being unselfish,” said 5-8 forward Dana Houghton, who had 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting and six rebounds.

Calais looked much better in the second half, but the 22-point halftime deficit and foul trouble for players like starting guard Tessa Clark and 6-foot center Nicole Osborne made it tough for the Blue Devils to mount a rally.

Osborne finished with a team-best 12 points, including eight in the third quarter, and seven rebounds. Hill added 10 points and Kelli Cross chipped in with six rebounds.

Jessica Bloch may be reached at jbloch@bangordailynews.net or 990-8193.

PANDAS 62, BLUE DEVILS 32

Calais (0-1) Lee (1-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Hill 2 16 5 7 10 Gifford 2 5 0 4

Morrison 0 0 1 4 1 Harris 2 5 5

Marshall 0 0 0 0 0 Mallett 1 2 2

Karvia 0 5 0 0 0 Grass 2 3 4

Cole 0 0 0 0 0 Bird 7 13 4 18

Clark 0 2 4 4 4 Dow 1 1 2

L. Rmngtn 1 2 0 0 2 McLghln 1 1 4

Hollngsdle 0 0 0 0 0 Ritchie 3 8 11

Cross 0 2 1 2 1 Cowan 0 0 0

W.Rmngtn 0 1 0 0 0 Sappier 0 2 2

McVicar 0 1 0 0 0 Houghton 5 10

Beaton 1 1 0 0 2

Osborne 5 11 2 3 12

Totals 9 39 13 20 32 Totals 24 49 12 16 62

Calais 6 12 24 32

Lee 18 34 46 62

3-pt. goals – Calais (1-7): Hill 1-5, Karvia 0-1, McVicar 0-1; Lee (2-10): Harris 1-3, Ritchie 1-4, Bird 0-2, Sappier 0-1

JV: Calais 51-28

Attendance: 150 (est.)

GAME FACTS

. Lee limited Calais to 12 points in the first half.

. Lee forced seven turnovers and outscored Calais 16-6 in the second quarter.

. Every Lee player in the lineup but one had at least two points and three scored 10 or more points.