GRAY — On the bench, Kate Breed had time to think about how disappointed she was in her play Saturday night.

The Cape Elizabeth sophomore guard knew she could have had a better night and the fact that she knew she had struggled only made it worse. But when she was rushed off the bench in the final seconds, she didn’t have time to dwell.

“I think overthinking about not playing well really definitely impacted my game,” Breed said. “I totally forgot about everything. I was like ‘this is my time.’ I just shot.”

Breed hit the game-winner, a stunning 3 with seven seconds left to lift Cape Elizabeth to a thrilling 61-59 girls’ basketball win over Gray-New Gloucester. It was the first win for the Capers.

Breed entered the game with her Capers reeling from a late Gray-New Gloucester rally. Her team was down one when starting guard  Mary Perkins fouled out with 20 seconds left in regulation.

“She’s got ice water,” Cape coach Chris Casterella said. “She’s an athlete, a competitor and a gamer. Most kids coming off the bench would turn down that shot. I knew right when it went to her that she was going to shoot it.”

The Patriots had missed the opportunity to pad the lead from the free throw line. Cape (1-2) got the rebound on the missed foul shot and pushed the ball the other way. The Capers swung it to the left side where Breed was open on the wing.

“I was sitting on the bench most of the second half because I had had a very off game,” Breed said. “I didn’t even second guess myself. I realized nobody was on me.  I just shot it and hoped for the best. I was so happy that it went in.”

It was a crazy finish after the Patriots (2-1) had erased a 12-point deficit in the final four minutes. Gray-NG had seven straight steals off the press to score 13 straight points that put them in the lead. Breed’s basket was her only points of the game.

“What are you going to do?” Gray-NG coach Mike Andreasen said. “Nine times out of 10, I’ll let it come down to that.”

Andreasen likened the loss to the New England Patriots win over the Cleveland Browns last week. The Patriots got the win, despite being outplayed by the Browns for much of the day.

“We were outplayed by them for most of the game,” he said. “We had one of those fourth quarters. Even though we felt like we had it taken from us, we would have taken it from them because they were the better team most of the night.”

Hannah Sawyer led the Capers with 15 points while Kate Miklavic added 13. Ashley Tinsman had 10. The Patriots were led by Maria Valente and Alicia Dumont with 16 each.

Cape had maintained a double-digit lead well into the fourth and were up 56-44 with 4:09 left in the game. Then Gray-NG’s full court press suddenly wreaked havoc. The Capers struggled inbounding the ball or getting out of the backcourt. The Patriots produced seven straight steals that all led to points. In a span of of a minute, the Capers lead was gone.

“They scored like 10 points off the press in (56 seconds),” Casterella said. “That’s on me as a coach. We have to be prepared better. I have better ball handlers then that. I have kids that make better decisions, but I also had kids in spots that I don’t normally put them in. Hats off to Gray because they fought their way back into the game.”

Valente had eight points during that stretch. Her back-to-back baskets made it 57-56 with 3:13 left. Cape retook the lead with two free throws by Maddie Bowe. Both teams turned the ball over and missed opportunities, but with 50 seconds left, Julia Martel hit a short jumper to make it 59-58.

“Luckily, our pressure saved us and got us back into the game,” Andreasen said. “Then it’s a question of experience and being able to put it away.”

The Patriots forced a Cape turnover but gave the ball right back with a travel with 40 seconds left. Cape had a corner jumper by Sawyer with 30 seconds left that missed. The Patriots got the rebound and took the ball the other way. Martel was fouled with 20 seconds left but she missed the free throw. Breed had returned to the game on that foul.

“The momentum was definitely on their side,” Breed said. “We were really worried but we just needed a clutch shot like that.”

The Patriots 5-foot-10 center Skye Conley made an attempt to disrupt the shot, but Breed was still able to bury it.

“They reversed the ball well and found her,” said Andreasen said. “Skye Conley ran at her hard. You see someone Sky’s size running at you, it can be disconcerting, and she knocked it down. In a game like that it comes down to somebody making a play. She made a play.”

Cape was missing forward Montan Braxton while the Patriots were missing center Stephanie Greaton, who’s out of action with an injury.

Cape opened 15-10 lead in the first but the Patriots retook the lead in the second. Gray-NG missed six-of-seven free throws in the second (7-for-20 overall) and shot just 4-for-12 from the floor in the second. Cape shot 9-for-15 in the second and built a 31-24 lead by halftime.

The Patriots tried to rally in the third but couldn’t be consistent. Gray-NG got within five twice but watched the Capers build the lead to as many as 10.  The Patriots were plagued by turnovers for much of the game and finished with nearly 30.

“It’s just experience,” Andreasen said. “That’s one of those things we’re lacking right now. As the team gels, they’re still learning.”

kmills@sunjournal.com