BELMONT – There was no shortage of production from the star players in the longstanding Lakes Region rivalry between the Gilford and Belmont girls’ basketball teams on Thursday. But as the contest played out, it became more and more evident that it wouldn’t be the standouts making the difference. That responsibility would fall on the supporting cast.
Gilford’s Stevie Orton scored 11 of her team’s 17 first-half points and Belmont’s Julianna Estremera netted 11 of her team’s 16, but it was the Raiders who ultimately showed off their balance and depth in the second half, outscoring the Golden Eagles 13-4 in the third quarter and pulling away for the 44-33 victory in their home opener.
Estremera hit four 3-pointers in the first half – including three alone in the first quarter – to keep Belmont (2-1) within a point of the defending Division III champions. And while the sophomore guard stayed aggressive in the second half, it was a trio of teammates that carried the scoring burden.
Makenzie Donovan, Nicole Antonucci and Taylor Yelle combined for 18 of the Raiders’ 28 second-half points as Donovan had back-to-back clutch buckets – a triple and a two-point shot – in the final four minutes to give Belmont the cushion it needed to hang on.
“We are a balanced team this year, which is nice,” Belmont Coach Mark Dawalga said after the Raiders notched their second straight win. “It’s even nice for me because even as the coach, I don’t know where the points are going to come from, but again everybody can score. That third quarter we made a little bit of a run, switched up our defense, and Stevie Orton is tough, but without Brooke (Beaudet), they’re a different team and we know that.”
Belmont closed the contest out by going 6 of 6 from the free-throw line to ice the game as Estremera finished with a team-high 17 points. Yelle scored all six of her points in the second half and Antonucci poured in five of her seven in the final 16 minutes.
Despite a monster double-double performance from a hobbled Orton, who finished with 23 points and 22 rebounds, the nine other players who saw time on the court for Gilford (1-2) generated just 10 points.
“She’s going to give us as much as she can,” Gilford Coach Rick Forge said of Orton, who was visibly fighting through pain up and down the court. “If you tell me before the game that Stevie’s going to have 22 rebounds and 23 points, I’m thinking we got a pretty good chance to win that game.”
At one point during the third quarter, Orton had registered 20 of the Golden Eagles’ 26 points – all coming from inside the 3-point line. With the loss of scoring guard Beaudet for the season, Gilford’s offense has become one-dimensional, and opponents are taking notice.
“You can see they know what our weaknesses are,” Forge said. “We have not established an outside shooter. Tonight was our first three of the year, three games into the season and we finally got a 3-pointer … Tonight they knew that they could just pack it in in their zone. The word’s out that we don’t have any shooters yet that can challenge from the outside, so once teams figured that out, they pack it in and you’re going to get double teams on Stevie and double teams on Kaitlyn (VanBennekum).”
Belmont did take notice, doubling anything inside throughout the third quarter and keeping its hands active in the passing lanes while it piled up the points on the offensive end. The Raiders took advantage of 26 Gilford turnovers to pick up a handful of fast-break points and defensively dared anybody but Orton to make a shot.
“The biggest thing was we were getting pressure and deflections,” Dawalga said. “It’s not so much about what happens after the first touch, but were touching the ball and it means we’re moving our feet on defense.”
On a combined 6-for-27 from the floor in the first quarter, the two teams played to an 8-8 tie before the Golden Eagles finally got it going in the second quarter. Junior guard Emily Bell lined up a 3-pointer and drained it for a 17-12 lead, but a sweet jumper from the wing and a pair of free throws for Estremera in the final 50 seconds allowed the Raiders to pull within one.
Belmont dominated the second half, outscoring Gilford 28-16 as it prepares for another home game against Prospect Mountain on Tuesday.
“They executed tonight very well,” Dawalga said. “I have a ton of respect for Gilford, Rick does a fantastic job and they have a great program.”
Gilford will look for a more complete performance at Laconia on Tuesday night.
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3340 or at jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @jaymcaree.)
Nute 42, Concord Christian 36
Key players: Concord Christian – Kara Jarvis (16 points), Jasmine Bell (8 points, 17 rebounds), Jade Bell (6 points), Becca Johnson (6 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Lady Kingsmen trailed by 10 at the half but came back strong in the third quarter, outscoring the Rams and eventually tying the game. Foul trouble and leg cramps caused two starters to come out in the fourth quarter as the Rams took the lead for good.
Coach’s quote: “I was very pleased with the way the girls worked tonight. I saw a lot of good stuff and some areas to work on. They put it all out there.” – Concord Christian’s Shelby Purtell
Records: Nute 2-0; Concord Christian 0-1