A late Winslow Black Raiders rally prevented Boothbay from advancing in this year’s Lobster Jam Tournament. The Seahawks held a three-point lead with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the defending Class B State Champions rallied to defeat Boothbay, and eventually win the Pool C bracket.

Boothbay has hosted the summer schoolgirl basketball tournament for eight years, but the Seahawks have never advanced out of pool play. This summer, Coach Brian Blethen’s team had three returning starters from last year’s 20-1 team which lost in the Class C South final. The Seahawks defeated other Pool C opponents Class A teams Camden Hills and Lincoln Academy. But a narrow loss resulted in Winslow, not Boothbay, advancing to the semifinal round.

Blethen characterized the tournament as an outstanding ending to a productive summer season. The Seahawks competed hard against a Winslow team with a returning core group capable of making another deep run in the Class B tournament. Blethen praised his team’s effort in its three pool games.

“They performed very well. We competed hard against a defending state champion, and had a chance to win the game,” he said.

Each year, the Lobster Jam has attracted mostly Maine’s top schoolgirl players and teams. This year’s tournament was no exception. Greely won last year’s Class A state championship. Gorham, after winning two consecutive Class AA state titles, lost in last year’s championship game. Gorham and Greely won their pools, and were joined in the semifinals by Winslow and perennial Class AA power South Portland.

Gorham defeated Winslow in one semifinal, and played Greely, who defeated South Portland, in the final. Gorham is a talented and experienced team. Senior center Mackenzie Holmes, who is headed to Indiana University after graduation to play Division I basketball, was a tough matchup for opponents in her team’s five games. And the Rams and Greely appear poised for another championship bid. Greely has its own Division I player guard Anna DeWolfe. She will play for Fordham University after graduation.

Boothbay has a Division I basketball player as well. Faith Blethen will attend George Washington University. The three Maine hoop standouts are all teammates on the Maine Firecrackers AAU team. In July, the trio played together in their last national tournament in Washington, D.C.

Coach Blethen has seen his share of competitive basketball this summer, which makes him even more anxious for the season to start this November. Blethen said his team’s narrow lost to Winslow showed how good the Seahawks can be. In a post-tournament huddle, Coach Blethen told his players the upcoming season had potential to become a special year. “I told them I can’t wait to get back into the gym and start working with these girls again,” he said.

The Lobster Jam also reacquainted Seahawks fans with a basketball player who grew up in Boothbay. Senior guard Ashley Abbott played the previous two years in Richmond. Coach Blethen described her as an “outstanding defender” and “perimeter shooting threat.”

“Ashley is a shooting guard who brings great defensive energy to the court. She continues to improve by becoming more disciplined, and I expect her to bring a lot of defensive pressure.”

The 2018 Lobster Jam tournament featured 15 Maine teams and one Connecticut team. Other teams competing were Gardiner, Oceanside, Lisbon, Conard High School of West Hartford, Connecticut, Leavitt, Mattanawcook Academy, Lewiston, Kennebunk, and George Stevens Academy.