Renne Hicks of Morse, left, fires a pass as Grace Houghton of Lincoln Academy defends during a Jan. 28 game at Bath Middle School. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
The streak is over, and for the Morse girls basketball team, it’s good riddance, too.
The Shipbuilders snapped a 46-game losing skid — a stretch that covered a little more than three years — when they edged Lincoln Academy 52-45 on Monday in Newcastle.
It marked the first victory for coach Jeannine Paradis, who is in her second year at the helm.
“It was a great team win and something this group of seniors have waited a long time for,” said Paradis.
Morse last was victorious on Jan. 25, 2018, when it sank Mt. Ararat 53-37.
Dakota Shipley, who scored a game high 14 points and had seven steals, paced Morse. Julia Goddard had 12 points, Abby Carpenter added 11, and Maddy Werner had 12 rebounds.
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“We had some great defensive stops and played the way we wanted to,” Paradis said.
Added Morse senior guard Mary LaRochelle, who scored four points Monday: “Getting that first win after three long years felt so surreal. Coming off the court and being surrounded by every player and coach on our team and to be able to celebrate all of our hard work finally paying off, it felt so incredible.”
LaRochelle aded the team isn’t satisfied.
“The goal is to keep going upwards, and to not drop down after this one victory. Our motto for this season has been to ‘be better’, and that’s what we want to do,” she said. “We’ll keep working hard and see what more we can accomplish.”
MORSE BOYS BASKETBALL PROGRESSING: The Morse boys basketball team is coming off its second win, after defeating Lincoln Academy 65-40 in Bath behind a 26-point night from Gabe Aucoin.
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It was a season-high for Aucoin, who left the previous game after a hard fall going for a loose ball.
The Shipbuilders are preparing for a rematch with Mt. Ararat, who pulled out a buzzer-beater 43-41 last week. The teams meet Feb. 22 with the boys hosting and the girls playing in Topsham.