AUBURN – The Boston Celtics couldn’t fool anybody by trying to hide Paul Pierce, introducing him early in the second quarter as the first player off the bench.
In the widely scattered world of Yankee Conference women’s basketball, however, where scouting reports are sketchy and there’s almost total turnover every two seasons, Central Maine Community College can get away with keeping hush-hush about Tiffany Seams.
Within seconds of Seams taking the Kirk Hall court Thursday night, all secrets became community property. The Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School graduate drained three 3-pointers in a span of less than three minutes to spark the Mustangs to a 55-40 victory over Eastern Maine Community College.
Seams, the 10th and final player to check into the game for CMCC (5-2), finished with a game-high 18 points.
“I missed a lot of practice lately,” Seams said, explaining her mysterious absence from the starting lineup.
As excuses go, Seams’ was a startlingly good one.
She spent the Thanksgiving holiday on vacation, enjoying the snowcapped peaks and crystal clear waters of Salt Lake City.
“I got engaged,” Seams said.
And somewhat like newlyweds, a youthful CMCC squad is starting to blossom under Seams’ guidance in the backcourt.
Seams is new to the team and the league after transferring from an NCAA Division II school in Florida, where she played softball.
Even though there’s probably an unwritten rule about not leaving your team in mid-season, CMCC coach Mike Bridges didn’t waste time sending Seams to the scorer’s table with the game tied 8-8 midway through the first half.
“I’m not going to cut off my nose to spite my face,” Bridges said. “She makes us go. Those 3’s she hit were huge. They got us going.”
Seams gave the Mustangs the lead for keeps with her first trifecta.
That triggered a 15-2 run, one that incorporated two more Seams salvos and hoops by Emily Calderwood, Janaya Millett and Amanda Webb.
“They might have been saying, Who’s that girl?'” Seams said.
EMCC (4-3) learned Seams’ name and many others, as there were subtle but equally critical contributions throughout the CMCC lineup.
Millett was the defensive stopper responsible for shutting out Katie Harris, the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer. Harris was averaging 15 points per game coming in.
Six-foot-two forward Nicole Hutchinson of Rumford scored only five points but stood tall with 13 rebounds, seven steals and four blocked shots.
“I thought Hutch was immense,” Bridges said.
When EMCC made a modest run to crawl within seven, 41-34, with nine minutes left, it was reserve forward Ashley Woolford sinking five of six free throws in a 90-second stretch to stem the tide.
Justine Frost-Kolva added seven points for the Mustangs in limited time due to foul trouble.
Jess Hanson, a high school teammate of Hutchinson at Mountain Valley, shared the load for EMCC with 10 points. Devon Schwab and Jamie Nightingale matched that total for the Golden Eagles. Schwab also made seven steals.
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