SCARBOROUGH—Emerson Flaker is enough of a problem when she’s not scoring points.
When she is, she and her Scarborough girls’ basketball teammates are close to unbeatable.
Tuesday evening at Alumni Gymnasium, the Red Storm welcomed Portland in an early-season contest and thanks to strong finishes at the end of quarters and Flaker doing a little of everything, they managed to continue their fast start.
Scarborough closed the first period on a 10-0 run to lead, 16-6, capped by a 3-pointer at the horn from freshman Ella Herzberg.
The Bulldogs got as close as five points in the second quarter, but the Red Storm went on an 11-3 surge to hold a 31-18 advantage at the half.
Flaker, a senior captain, then had eight second half steals and hit a key 3-pointer as well, as Scarborough pushed its advantage to 41-23 after three periods, then went on to a 48-31 victory.
Flaker finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 steals and added five assists and five rebounds as the Red Storm started the year to 2-0 and dropped Portland to 0-2.
“I think it was our intensity and working together as a team,” said Flaker, who has committed to running cross country and track at the University of Connecticut. “We connected passes and the defense was strong. We worked well together.”
Too much to contend with
Portland won just twice a year ago and was ousted by Oxford Hills, 51-20, in the Class AA North quarterfinals.
Joe Johnson, a longtime assistant with the school’s boys’ program, has taken over as coach and the Bulldogs expect to improve this winter. Portland gave visiting Bangor a battle in its opener last Friday, but lost, 51-36.
“This has been a great experience for me the last few weeks, just getting to know the girls,” Johnson said. “I think our chemistry is fantastic.”
Scarborough made it all the way to the Class AA South Final last season, where it lost to Gorham, 46-37, to finish 15-6.
The Red Storm graduated standout Caroline Hartley (now playing at Colby College), but return a lot and expect to be one of the final teams standing yet again. Scarborough opened last Friday with a 54-14 victory at Bonny Eagle.
The teams didn’t meet last year and hadn’t played a countable game since Dec. 17, 2019, when host Portland prevailed, 65-41.
Tuesday, the Red Storm turned the tables, led almost the whole way and beat the Bulldogs for the first time since Feb. 2, 2018 (42-35).
Portland freshman Lawino Bendasta and Scarborough senior Ellie Rumelhart jump to start Tuesday’s contest, won by the Red Storm, 48-31. Hoffer photo.
It took nearly two minutes for the first points to be scored before senior captain Ellie Rumelhart got a runner to roll in to break the ice.
The Bulldogs got on the board midway through the first quarter, when senior Baleria Yugu launched a 3-pointer which hit the back of the rim and dropped.
That would be Portland’s highwater mark, however.
With 2:38 left in the opening stanza, off an inbounds set, Herzberg set up junior Avery Bastian for a layup, then 34 seconds later, sophomore Eva Alvarez drove for a layup.
With 1:47 on the clock, Yugu was fouled while shooting a 3 and she drained all three subsequent free throws, but six seconds later, junior Avery Murphy set up Ellie Rumelhart for a breakaway layup, putting Scarborough in front to stay.
By quarter’s end, Ellie Rumelhart set up her sister and senior captain Megan Rumelhart for a 3-ball, Megan Rumelhart banked home a shot, then, after forcing a turnover, the Red Storm took a 16-6 lead as Flaker passed to Herzberg for a 3 at the horn to make it 16-6.
“With the experience we have, we expect to see that at the end of quarters,” said Scarborough coach Mike Giordano. “These kids have been in a lot of battles and I expect them to know how to finish quarters and halves.”
When Flaker drove for a layup and Ellie Rumelhart did the same to start the second period, the Red Storm appeared on their way to an easy win, but Portland battled back.
Off an inbounds set, Yugu fed promising freshman Lawino Bendasta for a layup, ending a 14-0 Scarborough run.
After Yugu made a layup after a steal, Yugu fed freshman Fasika West for a 3 in transition, then with 5:06 remaining in the first half, Yugu set up sophomore Natalie Rosario for a fastbreak layup to cut the deficit to just five, 20-15, forcing Giordano to call timeout.
It worked, as Scarborough closed the half on an 11-3 run.
After a Flaker free throw snapped the 9-0 Bulldogs’ run and a 3 minute, 50 second scoring drought, Megan Rumelhart put back a miss.
Bendasta got a point back at the line, but Flaker drove for a layup, then Ellie Rumelhart sank a free throw.
After Yugu fed Bendasta for a layup, Flaker found junior Helena Bukarac for a layup, then with 20.4 seconds on the clock, Ellie Rumelhart made a free throw for a 31-18 halftime advantage.
Ellie Rumelhart led all first half scorers with 10 points, while Megan Rumelhart added seven, neutralizing eight points from Yugu.
The Red Storm opened it up further in the third quarter.
Yugu began the second half scoring with a coast-to-coast layup, but Bukarac countered with a 3, Alvarez made a free throw, Ellie Rumelhart banked home a shot, Flaker drove and finished with her left hand and Flaker set up Bastian for a layup and Scarborough’s biggest lead, 41-20.
A free throw from senior Libby Kane ended the Red Storm’s 10-0 run, then Yugu drove for a layup, but the Bulldogs still trailed, 41-23, heading for the final stanza.
There, Scarborough salted away its victory.
Yugu fed Rosario for a layup, then Bendasta scored on a putback to pull Portland within 14, but Bukarac countered with a free throw.
With 5:27 to go, Yugu drained a 3 to make it 42-30, but the Bulldogs’ would get no closer, as Flaker set up Ellie Rumelhart for a layup, then with 4:22 to play, Flaker drained a 3-ball from the left corner.
“(Emerson) doesn’t need to score to affect games, but I like it when she does,” Giordano said. “She’s unbelievable. I’ve asked her to be a little more selfish offensively this year. We know what she provides on defense and she’s such a spark for us.”
Bendasta countered with a free throw for the Bulldogs’ final point, then Ellie Rumelhart’s foul shot put the finishing touches on the Red Storm’s 48-31 victory.
Flaker led the way, stuffing the stat sheet with 10 points, 11 steals, five assists and five rebounds. Her presence on the floor made Portland uncomfortable from start to finish.
“I love to steal the ball or have a defensive play or have an assist more than scoring,” said Flaker. “I love doing whatever I can. I may not be the best shooter and the ball might not be going in the hoop, but I can always control my defense.”
Ellie Rumelhart led all scorers with 15 points. She also had four rebounds and two steals.
Megan Rumelhart finished with seven points, four rebounds and three steals.
Bukarac had six points, Bastian four and Alvarez and Herzberg (five rebounds, two assists) three apiece.
“We’ve all played in the Civic Center and we know the game speed,” said Flaker. “We can help the younger players adapt to the speed of the game.”
“I like what we’re doing defensively and we’re consistently getting better offensively,” Giordano said.
Scarborough only turned the ball over 13 times and made 5-of-10 free throws.
Portland’s effort was paced by Yugu, who wound up with 15 points, to go with five assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
“We knew who their best player was and she’s good,” said Giordano, about Yugu. “We tried to do our best to limit what she was doing.”
Bendasta continues to impress in the early going with eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Rosario finished with four points and four rebounds and Kane had one point.
The Bulldogs made 6-of-10 foul shots and were ultimately doomed by 30 turnovers.
“Twelve (turnovers) is the number and anything over that is too much,” Johnson said. “We need to be aggressive and take care of the ball. We’re just trying to learn how to play. It’s eight minutes a quarter, four small games. I thought we lost a little control tonight and we’ll continue to talk about that.”
Up next
Portland tries again for its first victory Friday at home versus reigning Class AA champion Cheverus.
“We’re 0-2 and playing one of the best teams in the league Friday,” Johnson said. “We’ll show up and keep fighting and keep trying to get better. We’ll just go back to work and continue to build on our chemistry.”
Scarborough, meanwhile, hopes to stay perfect when it goes to South Portland for a playoff rematch Friday night.
“We’re very motivated,” Flaker said. “We want to go as far as we can. We’re working hard in practice to do so. We’ll just keep on working on conditioning and offense and doing the little things.”
“There are bigger tests to come and we’ll see more pressure,” said Giordano. “We’re ready for the challenge. It’s huge to have our experience. There are so many things I don’t have to introduce because the kids know what we’re trying to do.
“So far, so good.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.