AUGUSTA — Taylor Massey learned her lesson well.
Massey and her Hall-Dale teammates met Livermore Falls for the second time in less than two weeks Saturday for the Western Maine Class C championship. When they played for the conference championship 12 days ago, Massey got into foul trouble and wasn’t a factor.
The 6-foot-1 senior center was the factor in leading the Bulldogs to a 42-30 victory Saturday and their first regional title in five years. Hall-Dale (20-1) will meet the winner of Monday night’s Eastern Maine title game between Washington Academy and Orono next Saturday at the Bangor Auditorium.
Massey, who finished with a game-high 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, was named the tournament’s outstanding player. She also guarded Livermore Falls center Marissa Welch and held her to 13 points.
Just as important, she stayed out of foul trouble and in the game.
“We played them in the MVCs, she’s so big and such a threat inside. … I’d kind of get stuck behind her,” Massey said. “We changed and we fronted her.”
The Bulldogs took the lead late in the first quarter when freshman Chelsey Poland came off the bench and immediately drilled a 3-pointer. And they never gave it up.
Andies’ senior Megan Therrien guarded Carylanne Wolfington and held the high-scoring junior to eight points, but the Bulldogs still scored.
“We accounted for Wolfington but they have other players who really stepped up,” Livermore Falls coach Mark Simpson said. “They hit some really big shots.”
In addition to Poland, juniors Wendy Goldman and Kristina Buck also hit 3s when the Andies threatened the lead. Goldman finished with eight points while Buck scored five.
“Throughout the season we lean on Wolfington to score a lot for us,” Hall-Dale Coach Brandon Terrill said. “But tonight we needed our supporting cast to step up.”
The Bulldogs led 10-8 at the end of the first quarter and 23-14 at the half. Welch managed three baskets in the second quarter for the Andies but that was it as Hall-Dale’s perimeter defenders worked hard to deny shots.
Massey scored seven points in the quarter and blocked three shots.
“I knew Welch would be guarding me and she’s big,” Massey said. “So I knew I had to switch up my game a little bit and come out so if she was right on me I could drive by her.”
The Bulldogs led 32-19 at the end of three quarters and although the Andies closed the margin to 32-23 following a three-point play from Kathryn Ventrellla, that was as close as they would get.
Wolfington, who finished with five rebounds and four assists, twice found Massey for open layups in the fourth quarter to keep the Andies at bay.
“We didn’t press as much as we usually do,” Terrill said. “And we didn’t get a whole lot of transition baskets like we usually do. It was really a half-court game and we played predominantly half-court, man-to-man defense. I think we kind of beat them at their own game.”
Gary Hawkins — 621-5638
ghawkins@centralmaine.com
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