Two out of three ain't bad, but it wasn't good enough for the Lady Seahawks’ basketball team to advance in the Boothbay Lobster Jam tournament. Boothbay defeated Class B South Sacopee Valley of Hiriam, 32-30, and Class C North George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill, 48-40, but a 58-36 loss to eventual Lobster Jam champion Cheverus of Portland ended its summer basketball season.

Cheverus finished 3-0 in Pool C play and defeated Lewiston in the semifinals and Winslow in the final. This was the sixth annual Lobster Jam girls’ basketball summer tournament hosted by Boothbay Region High School.

All Maine high school basketball teams are invited each spring to play in the 16-team tournament. Each team is placed in a pool with three other opponents. The teams play three games within the pool. The top team in each pool advances to the single elimination playoff rounds.

In Boothbay’s first game, the Seahawks fell behind 11-2 as Sacopee Valley sharpshooter Helen Ruhlin scored 11 first quarter points on three three-pointers and one two-point basket. But that was all before Boothbay unleashed its “greyhound.” Coach Tanner Grover made a defensive adjustment and put tall, lanky forward Angie Perkins on the smaller Ruhlin.

Perkins’ length and quickness limited Ruhlin to nine points in the next three quarters which allowed Boothbay to eventually earn a two-point victory. Boothbay point guard Kate Friant said once the team realized that Ruhlin was the Hawks’ top scoring threat, it became easier to identify how to defend the long range shooter.

“One girl hit a bunch of threes, so after we figured out who to guard, we unleashed the greyhound on her,” she said. “Angie did a great job guarding her. We call her the greyhound because she is so fast and was the only one who could keep up with her.”

Against Sacopee Valley, Friant led Boothbay in scoring with 16 points. Other scorers were Nicole Clarke, Alexis Welch, and Hannah Gentry, who all had four points.

Boothbay played the first game without forwards Page Brown and Faith Blethen. Brown sprained her ankle and was out for the tournament. Blethen missed Friday’s game because she was returning home from a national basketball tournament.

Blethen returned for Boothbay’s second game against Cheverus and scored 25 points against the Class AA team. Friant scored nine points against the Stags and Welch had two. But Cheverus’ size, speed and perimeter shooting was too much for the Lady Seahawks.

“They just had too many good three-point shooters and they were a very tough team to play,” said Boothbay forward Nicole Clarke.

Against George Stevens Academy, Blethen scored another 25 points. Other Boothbay scorers were Friant with eight, Clarke with four, and Gentry with three; Sydney Meader and Tori Morin both had two.

For Boothbay seniors Friant and Clarke, this was their last Lobster Jam tournament. They both enjoyed playing against a variety of teams from across the state.

“This really is the last big hurrah for summer basketball. A lot of really good teams come here every year, and it’s fun to see how we match up against some of the best teams in the state,” Clarke said.

Boothbay played a different style of basketball this summer than it did in winning the Class C South regional title last winter. The Seahawks played a lot of man defense and used a fast break offense.

“We usually play differently in the summer as we try to improve our individual skills. But I liked playing the faster style, a lot. It was more like we were playing pick-up basketball, Friant said.

The other teams competing in the 2016 Lobster Jam were Oak Hill of Wales, Foxcroft Academy of Dover-Foxcroft, Winslow, Gardiner, Lisbon, Saint Dominic’s of Auburn, Lincoln Academy of Newcastle, Poland, Leavitt, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln and Mount Blue of Farmington.

Cheverus won the Lobster Jam championship for the second consecutive year.