BANGOR — Nokomis senior Marissa Shaw summed up her team’s second half defensive effort simply.
“We did awesome,” Shaw said.
Shaw was straight to the point, and she may have underestimated the Warriors’ effort. Nokomis held Old Town scoreless in the third quarter on its way 52-31 win in the Eastern Class B girls’ basketball semifinals.
No. 2 Nokomis (20-0) will play for its third straight regional title Saturday. No. 6 Old Town ended the season 14-7.
Leading 30-23 at the half, Nokomis outscored the Coyotes 11-0 in the third quarter. The difference, Coach Kori Dionne said, was paying attention to detail.
“Coming out of our press (in the first half), we were falling flat to the baseline instead of falling to a player,” Dionne said.
The Warriors forced 27 turnovers, including six during the pivotal third quarter.
“That’s Nokomis defense,” Shaw said. “That’s how we know how to play.”
Added Old Town Coach Dana Maxim: “I think their defense is incredible. We couldn’t get our shots off like we could the other night. … It’s hard to score if you don’t get shots.”
Nokomis scored the first eight points and never trailed.
Old Town kept it close in the first half by hitting four 3-pointers. In the second half, the Warriors did a better job getting out on the Coyotes’ shooters.
“We talked more in the second half, which is big,” Shaw said.
Old Town didn’t score in the second half until there was just 3:45 left. By that point, Nokomis’ lead had swelled to 47-23.
Shaw scored 11 points. Traci Carson came off the bench to lead Nokomis with 12 points.
“We knew (Carson) could do it,” Shaw said. “She always has good minutes off the bench.”
Ashley England led Old Town with nine points.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
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