ROCKPORT, Maine — One small defining moment can change the course of a basketball game in a big way.
Camden Hills freshman forward Jordan Knowlton had not one, but two in Friday night’s KVAC Class B girls showdown with Nokomis.
Knowlton not only hit a buzzer-beating half-court shot at the end of the third quarter, but she found senior guard Gabe Duke for a breakaway layup in the final seconds off a missed Warrior free throw as the Windjammers sailed to a dramatic 49-46 victory in a game that had plenty of tournament implications.
Coach Jay Carlsen’s club, which came in ranked fifth in the Class B Heal points, improved to 10-3 with its sixth consecutive victory, while Nokomis, which had won nine in a row and entered play in third place, is also 10-3.
This contest had the makings of a classic right from the word go, as Camden Hills built a 12-point first-half lead only to see Nokomis get back to within one at halftime. The Warriors then led by as much as eight in the third before Knowlton’s dramatic shot brought her team back within five heading into a topsy-turvy fourth quarter.
“It’s just like it took some weight off our shoulders. We got really complacent in the third quarter and stopped playing offense,” said Carlsen.
Senior tri-captain Maddie Smeaton agreed.
“Last year, we were horrible and now we’re finally coming together. It feels amazing,” she said. “[That] half-court shot sparked us, gave us a lot of energy.”
The teams went back-and-fourth through the first half of the fourth, with the biggest lead for either side being a 40-35 Nokomis edge with five minutes to go after a steal and layup by Mary Badeen.
But the resilient ’Jammers, who won only four games last winter, responded with a 6-0 run, capped by Maci Heal’s layup with 4:01 left to give the hosts the lead.
After a Marissa Shaw follow-up hoop put Nokomis back up, the Windjammers scored the next four points to go up three, both baskets coming on layups by Taylor Porter.
A free throw by Smeaton gave Camden Hills a 46-42 lead with 54 seconds to go, but Nokomis wasn’t done yet, as Shaw’s foul-line jumper with 39.9 seconds left brought it within two.
Twenty-nine seconds later, Julie Smith’s driving layup tied the game at 46, but after she missed the subsequent free throw, Knowlton, who had 22 points and 16 rebounds, rose to the occasion again, grabbing the rebound and spotting a wide-open Duke for a lay-in.
Duke, who was fouled on the play, sank her free throw, and following a Warriors’ timeout, Nokomis threw the inbounds pass out of bounds to seal Camden Hiils’ triumph.
Ironically, Duke had fouled Smith on the play before her layup, and she was positioned near the midcourt line and broke free after Knowlton hauled down the missed foul shot.
“I was ready to sprint down the floor in case we got the rebound. Luckily, she got the rebound,” said Duke.
Knowlton just used her basketball IQ to her advantage on the play.
“I’m pretty known for passing those, so I had the idea of just throwing it, and I got it to her and she had a great finish,” said Knowlton.
The Windjammers came out tough on defense even with feisty man-to-man pressure, double-teaming Nokomis sharpshooters Badeen, Kara Batchelder and Shaw on the perimeter and keeping entry passes and open looks at a premium.
But Nokomis, which shot only 2-for-12 from the floor in the first quarter and 4-for-19 in the first half, responded in the second, as Shaw scored 12 of her team-high 16 points after halftime while Batchelder sparked Nokomis’ 14-10 third-quarter run with a couple of perimeter bombs.
“I didn’t think that we really played well defensively tonight, but we did in the first quarter and halfway through the second quarter,” Carlsen said. “I thought we were a little slow to rotate. We did some half-court pressure just trying to take them out of rhythm.”
The Windjammers are certainly sailing through less choppy waters than they were last winter, as Friday’s win vaulted them to third in the Heal points with five games remaining in the regular season.
Their ship certainly didn’t sink when the Warriors pulled ahead in the second half.
“Every time we got behind, we always seemed to come back,” said Porter, who was the ’Jammers’ other double-figure scorer with 11 points. “It’s a big part in the way our team plays together this year and we always have our heads up most of the time.”
The energy was certainly sensed way before tipoff.
“We were really ready to go, really pumped up in the locker room ready to come out,” said Smeaton.
Batchelder finished with 11 points and Badeen 10 and four steals for Nokomis while Shaw had four steals and eight rebounds.
