AUBURN — Central Maine Community College set the program record for highest points scored in a single game Saturday with its 121-24 win over Paul Smith’s College in Yankee Conference women’s basketball action.
The previous record was 119 points in a win over Berkeley on Oct. 29, 2016.
Mustangs coach Andrew Morong said part of Saturday’s strategy was to treat this game like a championship game and not lose momentum despite the lead.
“We were relentless for 40 minutes, even up by 70, 80, taking offensive fouls, diving on the floor for loose balls — that’s vintage CM basketball,” Morong said. “We hadn’t really played like that, we hadn’t played a full 40 minutes, so it was just great to see the girls really give a consistent effort regardless of what the scoreboard said.”
Morong said a lot of teams will “take their foot off the gas” or lose steam when the score is so uneven, but he doesn’t let the Mustangs’ effort decline, because that’s when bad habits are formed.
The Mustangs (8-1, 3-0 YSCC) are also a younger team, with 10 freshmen, one sophomore and two juniors. Despite their age, Morong played every single player in Saturday’s game and every player put points on the board, which he said is a testament to their depth.
Top scorers for the Mustangs were Ella Lavigne (19 points), Chantel Ouellette (14 points), Jolien Defoort (13 points), Destiny Mora Lopez, Molly Corbett (12 points), Hazel Hernandez (11 points) and Marney Rees (10 points). Lavigne had a double-double, with her 19 points and 15 rebounds.
The Mustangs started the game on a 12-point scoring run until Abby Batemen made a free throw for the Bobcats (0-1, 0-1 YSCC) with 5:50 left in the first period. Saturday was the Bobcats’ first game of the season, and a disappointing start according to coach Brad Rideout. Despite the loss, Rideout said the team will be back in action tomorrow and he plans to take Saturday night to learn from the team’s mistakes, and then move on.
“I thought we did decently considering what the score was, nobody individually, we were just bad today,” Rideout said. “Nothing went well at all. We turned the ball over 48 times, we shot 15 percent from the field, so it was a bad game all around.”
On the flip side, the Mustangs felt good about their performance, especially getting up in transition and looking for the open person and running responsibilities, Ouellette said.
“All the girls here can score about 10-15 points a night, but that’s not always our job,” Ouellette said. “I think knowing our role and knowing what you need to do when you get, once we get on the floor, is what’s special about our team.”
The Mustangs made 54.1% of their field goals, 29.4% of their 3-pointers and 62.5% of their free throws Saturday. Setting the school record for points in a game was something Ouellette said Morong has been putting in the back of their minds, but really pushed the team to go for it at halftime, when the Mustangs were up 75-9.
“You know, coach has put that in the back of our minds for a while, but our team just works and keeps going, they don’t stop,” Ouellette said. “I think that’s a great thing for us to finally see that up on the scoreboard.”
Lavigne said the secret to Saturday’s win was the defensive pressure the Mustangs put on the Bobcats to help their offense score quick and easy points.
“We’ve been working on and we even talked about during halftime, swinging around to find the great shot and then the good shots and as many good shots, because you’re not going to get the great shots every time,” Lavigne said.
On defense, Lavigne said the Mustangs are good at staying low and having big energy to block shots and get rebounds. Morong said Lavigne continues to dominate the YSCC.
“She’s one of, if not the best player in the USCAA. Earned it with a double-double today,” Morong said. “She just gets it done in a very unassuming way, and she’s a great defender as well.”
He also said it was great to see Ouellette work on her offensive game Saturday, because she is a “facilitator and a defender,” but she’s also able to score, which she showed this game.
“I feel like we’re a team with 10 freshmen and three returners,” Morong said about the Mustangs’ season overall. “We just need more games so that our freshmen become not freshmen anymore. Today was a leap forward in that direction.”
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