UPDATE: The Boothbay Region High School varsity girls basketball team entered the fourth quarter trailing by one point to the Monmouth Mustangs, but forced two crucial turnovers in the home stretch to come away with a 51-46 victory January 14, in Monmouth.

Boothbay's Lady Seahawks started the second half with a 5-point lead, but was overcome by Monmouth's 2-2-1 zone press, which enabled the Mustangs to go on an 11-5 run in the third quarter.

“(The press) really bothered us, and I was kind of surprised because we had been handling pressure better as of late,” Boothbay Coach Tanner Grover said.

With five minutes left to play in the game, Boothbay forced two turnovers that translated into two back-to-back buckets. Boothbay then stalled the ball shaving two minutes off the clock, forcing Monmouth to foul. Sara Durgan, Morgan Crocker and Alex Clarke all got to the line to shoot free throws in the final minutes.

Clarke scored a season-high 20 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 6 shots.

“Clarke definitely played her best game of the season,” Grover said. “Alex is patient and didn't rush anything, and we did a nice job of looking for her in the interior.”

Grover said the major difference between Boothbay's play against Monmouth this time around was better ball control, and fewer turnovers, having committed only 9 team turnovers January 14, compared to 18 turnovers earlier this season.

Original post: The Boothbay Region High School Lady Seahawks (8-2) look to settle their score with the Monmouth Mustangs (7-2) at 7 p.m. at Monmouth Academy, January 14. Since Boothbay lost their home opener to Monmouth December 11, the Lady Seahawks have been anxious for another shot at the Mustangs.   

“We really want to come out with the win this time,” senior captain Sarah Caron said. “We definitely marked this night for a win.”

Currently Monmouth is seeded fifth and Boothbay is seeded second in the Western Class C Conference standings.

During their last meeting December 11, the smaller Mustangs were able to disrupt the Lady Seahawks inside game, forcing Boothbay to compromise their shot selection. Boothbay eventually lost by one point 46-45.