AUGUSTA — Third-seeded Boothbay built a 17-point halftime lead Tuesday and went on to a 58-42 victory against sixth-ranked Mt. Abram in a Western Class C girls’ basketball quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center.
The Seahawks (13-6) advance to play seventh-seeded Waynflete (13-7) in the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
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“This is the first trip down here for these girls and we just kind of froze that first half,” Mt. Abram Coach Doug Lisherness said.
The Roadrunners played without center Annie Dexter, who missed the game for personal reasons, and it hurt against a Boothbay team that has good size. It also cut Mt. Abram’s already thin bench to one reliable reserve.
“The first half we fell apart,” Tori Beane of the Roadrunners said. “We said we weren’t going to foul and that’s all we did.”
Miranda Smith of Mt. Abram (10-8) picked up her third foul with 1:41 left in the first quarter but was forced to return in the second quarter and lasted the rest of the game.
The Seahawks took full advantage because foul trouble forced the Roadrunners out of an effective full-court press.
Boothbay outscored the Roadrunners 19-10 in the second quarter to take a 33-16 halftime lead. Sarah Caron scored 11 of her 23 points in the quarter, and Alexandra Andrews added seven.
“The third quarter and even in the fourth, it was more like the ball we’ve been playing,” Lisherness said.
“But we were down and out at that point. You’re not going to come back against a real good team like Boothbay.”
The Roadrunners did outscore the Seahawks 13-3 over the second half of the third quarter.
Beane (14 points) capped both ends of the run with 3-pointers as Mt. Abram cut the lead to 41-33. Things appeared even more promising for the Roadrunners when Boothbay center Meghan Smith fouled out late in the third quarter after drawing a foul, then a technical for protesting the call.
But the Seahawks went inside to 6-foot Alex Clarke for a layup and three-point play that pushed the lead to 52-34.
“When Meghan went out the other kids responded,” Boothbay Coach Dan Wolotsky said. “We said coming out of the huddle, let’s get it down low to our strength.”
Smith finished with 14 points and five rebounds, and 5-foot guard Abbie McLellan provided valuable minutes off the bench.
“She was fierce defensively,” Wolotsky said.
“When they were coming back and Beane started making shots, we put little Abbie on her and she took care of her.”
Mikayla Luce scored 11 points for Mt. Abram, which will graduate just one player.
“We will be back,” Beane said. “And it’s going to be different next time, hopefully.”
Gary Hawkins — 621-5638
ghawkins@centralmaine.com
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