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SANFORD — In a tight race at the top of the Class A South girls basketball playoff field, why not Sanford? In their regular-season finale on Thursday, the Spartans made their case, and made it strongly.
In a 58-43 win over Biddeford, Sanford closed the regular season with a 16-2 record. That the dominant win came over a rival that beat previously undefeated Cheverus just two nights earlier, gives the Spartans an extra jolt of confidence heading into the tournament.
Sanford secured the No. 2 seed with the win. Biddeford (15-3) will enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed.
“It’s amazing for us to have a game like that, where we’re all contributing, going into playoffs to have that on our back, it’s great,” said Sanford sophomore Mollie Puffer, who scored 29 points.
Puffer tossed in 16 points in the first quarter as Sanford started red-hot and ran out to a 28-7 lead.
“We’ve been waiting for a start like that pretty much all season, and no better time than now to do it,” Sanford coach Rossie Kearson said. “You have a bunch of young ladies who are very hungry, and tonight was the night where they were like, ‘we’re going to do our thing.’”
Sanford beat Biddeford in a low-scoring, tight affair in the first game of the season, 36-34. Along the way to Thursday’s rematch, the Spartans lost a pair of games to the other top contenders in the region, Cheverus (63-46) and South Portland (48-42). Cheverus beat South Portland, 50-47, Thursday to close the regular season at 17-1. Like Sanford, South Portland is 16-2, both losses to Cheverus.
“Early on in the season, we had a tough game against Cheverus, and we didn’t come out and play like Sanford plays. I think that (beating Biddeford) shows we can be a special team this year,” Puffer said.
Puffer was the catalyst, but not a one-player show. Ella Tederous added 18 points, including eight in the third quarter when the Spartans pushed their lead back to 21 after Biddeford made a run to cut it to 12. That said, the team follows Puffer’s lead, said Kearson.
“Mollie is that player you dream about having. She’s what we call a dog. Mollie gets after it. Winning is everything to her, and she’s going to give 100% every single time,” Kearson said. “For her, it’s about getting the W and doing whatever for the team. It’s what do we need, and I’ve got you.”
Even with the loss, Biddeford cannot be written off as a contender. The Tigers did beat Cheverus, after all, and have experience on the big stage of the playoffs after reaching the Class B state final last season. Thursday was one of those games that get away from you, said Biddeford coach Jeannine Paradis, and when you try to do too much to get back into it, the game slips farther away.
“We have to make better decisions than we made tonight. We got kicked in the teeth, and we allowed it to effect us a little bit,” Paradis said. “It’s great that it happened now, because we don’t want it to happen on (Feb. 17 in the regional quarterfinals).”
Was her team still riding the high of the big win just two days earlier? Paradis doesn’t think so.
“I think that’s what a lot of people are going to think, but that’s not the way their mentality is,” she said. “These kids always look ahead.”
It’s going to be a fun tournament, as it always is. The Class A South bracket might be the most intriguing of them all. If nothing else, the results of games this week showed just how competitive the region can be.
“It’s very tough all the way around. Anyone can beat anyone on any given night,” said Kearson. “I think this is a group that’s been waiting their turn, waiting for their moment. I think for them, this is now.”
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Puffer accepted hugs from her teammates while never picking up her dribble, keeping that going with her left hand. The win was secure, and the tournament is about to start.