Maniacs 60, DC Heat 24

The Maine Maniacs 15-U girls’ basketball team advanced to the championship round in the U.S. Junior Nationals in Washington, D.C. with a convincing 60-24 win over the DC Heat.

Maine roared out of the gate with aggressive play on both ends of the court. Thornton Academy’s Ashley Howe had 13 points and five rebounds and South Portland ‘s Maddy Hasson scored 12 to pace the Maniacs. Edward Little’s Emily Jacques scored 10 points and added five rebounds and two blocks.

Triple Threat 56, Maniacs 53

The Maniacs 15-U girls’ basketball team lost a heart breaker in its Elite 8 game of the Junior Nationals in Washington DC Friday morning, ending their tournament run. The Maine team lost in overtime to the Philadelphia Triple Threat 56-53 when the Threat scored on a traditional 3-point play wiith five seconds remaining.

Maddy Hasson of South Portland had a monster game for the Maniacs with a game-high 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds and had three steals. Down three points, Hasson tied the game up with less then 20 seconds to go on a putback and she got fouled and made the free throw before Triple Threat scored the game-winner. Edward Little’s Emily Jacques scored 14 points and had eight rebounds, while Montana Braxton of Cape Elizabeth netted eight points along with her six rebounds.Guard Tanya James was impressive for the Triple Threat, scoring on a variety of shots to record 21 points.

The Maniacs finished the tournament with a 4-1 record. Team members are Hasson, Braxton, Jacques, Dom Lewis and Nia Irving of Lawrence, Caitlin Kane of Mt. Blue, CeCe Hancock of Lake Region, Ashley Howe of Thornton Academy, and Chloe Smedley of York. Coaches are Matt Hancock and Steve Howe and scorekeeper is Carole Kane.