Sports Reporter
FORT FAIRFIELD – Sophomore Amanda Hotham provides a very difficult matchup for opposing teams. The Tiger sophomore plays much bigger than her listed height of 5-foot-6 and also possesses outstanding quickness.
The Limestone/MSSM Eagles found that out first hand Saturday, as Hotham fired in a career-high 35 points in Fort Fairfield’s 66-19 victory.
“I thought Amanda was just unstoppable today and played with great energy,” said Tiger coach Larry Gardner. “She was all over the court and that is a contagious thing when the other players see that.
“Her teammates did a great job of getting her the ball and even though one player has a dominant game like that, she knows it’s not possible without her teammates, and I think that is what is special about Amanda.”
The Tigers actually got off to a slow start, scoring just five points in the first 6:20 of action. From that point on, Hotham took over by draining four consecutive free throws to end the first quarter and scoring her team’s first eight points of the second period. She finished with 14 in the frame and 20 in the half.
Fort Fairfield outscored the visiting Eagles 20-4 in the second quarter to take a 31-9 lead at intermission.
The Eagles went 9:18 without scoring a point. The dry spell began after Stephanie Leighton’s basket with 3:50 left in the second quarter and did not end until Caitlin Good converted a layup with 2:32 remaining in the third.
“Our offense is just not working,” said Limestone/MSSM coach Jamie LaBreck, “but Fort Fairfield has some really good players and they put a lot of pressure on the ball.”
Gardner said his team’s halfcourt pressure defense was effective throughout. “Hopefully we can continue to improve on that as the season goes on,” he said. “We’ve just started working on it and I’ll be anxious to see how it works against a little stronger teams.”
Brooke Beaulieu scored 12 points and Sydney Churchill added 10 for the Tigers. Good had a team-high eight points for the Eagles.
The Eagles were without the services of 6-foot-3 sophomore center Mallory Patten, who suffered an ankle injury last week and had an MRI scheduled for yesterday. “Hopefully she can come back because we really could use her help with rebounding and some offense,” LaBreck said.
In their other games last week, the Tigers bested Easton Thursday and Washburn Monday. Hotham scored 17 and Beaulieu 14 in the 59-40 win at Easton. Brooke Hammond tallied 16 points for the Bears, who trailed at the quarter breaks 14-11, 30-16 and 51-29.
In Monday’s home contest against Washburn, Hotham scored 24 points to outduel the Beavers’ Rebecca Campbell, who finished with 23, as Fort managed a 60-42 win. Beaulieu registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards for the Tigers, who improved to 5-0.
Limestone/MSSM had one other contest last week, a 33-16 victory at Van Buren Friday. Stephanie Leighton scored eight points and Chelsea Leighton contributed another six, with Good also scoring six for the winners. Jen Ouellette had eight points to lead Van Buren.
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
TIGER FORWARD Amanda Hotham eyes the rim while getting past Limestone/MSSM’s Chelsea Leighton, left, and Stephanie Leighton during a Saturday afternoon contest in Fort Fairfield. The Tigers’ Sydney Churchill looks on. Hotham scored 35 points in Fort Fairfield’s 66-19 victory.
