PORTLAND — All season long, opposition teams have had a problem stopping Wells’ crisply run, fast-paced motion offense.
The one exception was Wednesday’s opponent Gray-New Gloucester, who held the Warriors to a season-low 24 points when the teams met on Dec. 19.
“Twenty-four points,” recalled senior forward Alison Furness. “That was pretty bad.”
Wells had no such problems in Wednesday’s rematch, as Furness scored 18 points, and the third-seeded Warriors put together a business-like performance in dispatching the sixth-seeded Patriots 49-30 in a Western Class B quarterfinal at the Portland Expo.
Wells (17-2) moves on to play No. 2 Spruce Mountain (19-0), who held off No. 7 Fryeburg Academy 55-51 in Wednesday’s other morning quarterfinal, in the semifinals at 3 p.m. today at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
“We had a lot more energy this time,” Furness said. “We were really pumped up and really wanted to redeem ourselves from the first time we played them. It was a lot better offensively this time.”
The game was played at 9 a.m. after being postponed from its original time slot due to Tuesday’s snowstorm. That, coupled with a 12-day layoff, could have meant trouble for the Warriors. It was anything but.
“There was no concern at all,” said Sophie Lamb, one of Wells’ five senior starters. “We’ve been waiting for this game for over a week. After losing to them in the regular season, we knew we were going to come out and put some serious points on them. We were not going to score 30, and we were not going to lose to them.”
Lamb did her part early, drawing a charge 62 seconds in against Patriots standout Maria Valente. Valente, who led Gray-New Gloucester (12-7) in points, assists, rebounds and steals during the regular season, then picked up two more quick fouls and spent most of the first half on the bench.
“We knew if we could keep the ball outside and get Maria Valente in foul trouble in the first quarter and control her, then we’d have the game,” Lamb said. “That was my plan at least, that was my job. She likes to drive to the middle so I could take a charge, and starting the game off like that was just great.”
With Valente off the floor, Wells was able to smoothly run its offense, using quick cuts and back-door plays to get high-percentage looks and hit 8 of 14 shots in the opening quarter to build a 17-7 lead.
When the Warriors did miss, post players Lamb and Jordan Agger were there to clean up the scraps as Wells grabbed 13 first-half offensive rebounds.
“We just wanted to be relentless,” Wells coach Don Abbott said. “We just felt like if we played with that energy and went after every loose ball, every opportunity to create a 50-50 matchup, then good things were going to work for us. That level of relentlessness was a factor.”
The Patriots managed to keep things close for most of the second until Wells ended the quarter with a 9-1 run to go into halftime up 28-14. Stephanie Woods hit two 3-pointers in the run, including one from the right corner just before the buzzer.
“Both those 3’s she hit in the first half were massive,” Abbott said. “Especially one at the buzzer, then (the lead) goes from 11 to 14 and that’s a huge emotional lift.”
Wells then sealed things in the third, outscoring Gray-New Gloucester 17-6 to open up a 45-20 lead after three before cruising to the 19-point victory.
Valente ended with six points ”“ nine below her season average ”“ while Alicia Dumont led the Patriots with 10.
In addition to Furness’ 18, Woods had eight points while Lamb chipped in seven and Agger six for Wells. Reserve guard Natalie Thurber also had six points, hitting two 3’s as part of the stretch that put the game away in the third quarter.
A freshman, Thurber had been on the junior varsity team for most of the season but was ready when called upon, a point Abbott emphasized to his squad pregame.
“I told them before the game this is going to be a team win,” Abbott said. “I don’t know how that translates into how many points you’re going to score or how many minutes you’re going to play, but we’re going to do this together.”
Next up is Spruce Mountain, the team Wells upset in the quarterfinals a season ago.
The 28 or so hour turnaround will be the second shortest of the season for the Warriors, who lost the second game of their only back-to-back during the regular season ”“ the slip-up against Gray New-Gloucester, which came one day after a draining victory over top-ranked Lake Region.
Lamb and the Warriors’ seven other seniors are determined not to let it happen again.
“We’ve had over 10 days to rest, and we knew the possibility of two games in a row could happen with the snow, and we’ve prepared ourselves,” Lamb said. “Right now, we’re in the mindset that we’re all seniors, and if we lose, we’re done. And we don’t want to be done.”
— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.
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