By Matt Pascarella

Tuesday, Feb. 6 was Senior Night for Windham’s varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball teams and it turned out to be a night to remember for players and fans. The girls fought hard and won 34-27, while the boys also battled in a tight game and held off Edward Little, 60-56.

Seniors Blake McPherson, Quinton Lindsay, Eric Bowen, Beni Ninziza, Matthew Searway, Noah Mains, Ryan Smyth, Paolo Ventura and Mallory Muse were each presented with a small gift as a thank you for their dedication to Windham Athletics throughout high school.

Bowen and Muse received the Windham Youth Basketball Little Eyes Upon You Awards presented by Maine Optometry. This honor goes to a senior that demonstrates commitment to the youth in their community. Both Bowen and Muse said it felt really good to know they are looked up to and are making a difference.

Boys

“We knew it was going to be tough tonight,” said varsity boys’ basketball coach Chad Pulkkinen. “Our mindset was to recognize the seniors and make it about them tonight, play our absolute tails off and not worry about their record, just worry about playing our best basketball. Some things we need to improve on are just simple things defensively, some things that can help make those possessions a little harder for the other team. We talked about it a little bit and what they’ve been able to create as a group; and what they’ve been able to build for community involvement … hats off to our guys to be able to battle night-in and night-out.”

The boys made Windham High School history when they earned their 15th win of the season over Oxford Hills on Friday, Feb. 2. They are undefeated at home with Tuesday’s game being their 16th victory of this season.

Edward Little jumped to an early lead, but Windham defense kept their score low and Windham offense hit some three-pointers in the first quarter. Soon the game was tied at 21. Edward Little pulled away 31-27 at the half.

Searway hit three three-pointers in the second half and the game remained close. Windham eventually pulled out in front to put some distance between the teams.

“The whole team works hard and works together as a team,” said Searway. “Every night we have a person that steps up. I was lucky enough to have open shots and I was lucky enough to hit them tonight. The community that is here for us is amazing and we can feel that energy. We want to cherish every moment; we went out and executed. We moved the ball well, defensively, we … ran the floor pretty well, got a lot of transition points … the way we can control the pace of the game is how we can win some of these; tonight was definitely electric.

According to Quinton Lindsay, Windham players knew this game was going to be a dog fight and they wanted to get everyone in the game because they are a family. Mentally Windham had to lock in on defense, get their shooters rattled and rebound. They need to talk more on defense.

Four points separated the teams with 1:18 left but Windham persevered to earn the “W.”