Turnovers were frequent and most points were scored in transition as two defensive-minded teams fought hard to protect their baskets December 15.

Boothbay trailed 28-34 going into the fourth quarter, when Spruce Mountain tried to take advantage of Boothbay’s six team fouls committed in the second half. With six and half minutes on the clock, Spruce Mountain went into “stall mode" in an attempt to burn up time and draw the foul that would put them at the line with a one-and-one team bonus.

“Most teams, when they do that, they hold off until the final minute or two…In a way, it kind of backfired for them,” Boothbay Coach Tanner Grover said. “We actually came up with a couple of steals and went ahead and tied it up.”  

With the game notched at 35 points apiece, the opportunity arose for Boothbay to regain the lead. At the three-minute mark, Sarah Caron and Allison Crocker shot back-to-back three pointers that never found the net.  

Grover said it was a low-scoring game that didn’t feature a lot of half-court offense. “From an offensive point of view it wasn’t a really pure game to watch. Boothbay just didn’t execute.”

Caron topped Boothbay’s scoring column with 12 points, followed by Morgan Crocker’s 11 points off the bench. Grover said Crocker was fantastic in defending Spruce Mountain’s point guard, Nicole Hamlin, but that Boothbay found it difficult to stop sophomore guard Emily Keene from scoring 16 points, 12 of which came from behind the three-point line.  

“I think it was a game that could have gone either way. (Spruce Mountain) just got the bounces last night, and that’s kind of how it went,” Grover said. “I think the girls are collectively starting to realize what we need to work on to take it to the next level. The benefit of it is, it gives us a focus for practice and shows us where we need to go, so now we just need to get it done. “

The Lady Seahawks (2-2) returned to Boothbay late Saturday night with an even number of wins and losses, and will have two days of rest before traveling to Sabattus to face the winless Oak Hill Raiders (0-3).

Game Over: After an intense game, Spruce Mountain defeated Boothbay 37-41.

Third Quarter: With one quarter left to play, Spruce Mountain is still ahead with 28-34.

Second Quarter: Spruce Mountain maintains their lead with 18-26. 

First Quarter: Boothbay trails Spruce Mountain 8-12.

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
	8	10	10	9	37
	12	14	8	7	41

Original post: The Lady Seahawks (2-1) varsity and junior varsity teams will take on Spruce Mountain (3-0) at 5:30 and 7 p.m., December 15. 

Head coach Tanner Grover had two full practices to prepare his team for the challenge. The undefeated Spruce Mountain girls’ varsity will be a tough opponent, Grover said.

Spruce Mountain's mode of operation is using pressure defense and scoring points off of turnovers, a method that Boothbay enacted against Winthrop.

“We're going to focus on taking care of the ball, and making sure offensively we have a better idea of where we want to put the ball,” Grover said. “If we can bring the same level of defense we brought (against Winthrop) up to Spruce Mountain, then I think we have a shot of going up there and coming out with a win.”