Lawrence faces one of its more talented opponents of the season when it hosts Edward Little at home Thursday night.
The Red Eddies are 13-2 in Class AA North, riding a 12-game winning streak, and have enough size and experience to contend for a state championship. The good news is Lawrence is also playing well. The Bulldogs (9-5) have won four straight since losing to unbeaten Messalonskee, including tournament bound teams in Hampden, Skowhegan and Waterville.
“We’ve got them at home that’s the good thing,” Lawrence coach John Donato said. “Hopefully we make good decisions offensively.”
The Bulldogs got off to a rocky start with point guard Morgan Boudreau, the team’s only senior, out of the lineup with an injury. They’re 6-2 since her return and have displayed a balanced offense.
“Every one of the starting five has been a high scorer some time this year,” Donato said. “We’re not unbelievable, we just play well together.”
The Bulldogs have a pair of three-point sharpshooters in juniors Hunter Mercier and Camryn Caldwell, who are 1-2 in that category in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference’s Class A division. Junior center Molly Folsom is an adept passer, particularly from the high post, and an excellent free throw shooter while sophomore Brooke Lambert is one of the team’s most improved players and has averaged double figure scoring in the last four games.
Freshman guard Keagan Alley is a solid defender, having held Waterville senior and 1,000-point scorer Jordan Jabar to six points in a recent game. Megan Curtis, another freshman, is back from a concussion injury and Donato plans to work her back into the lineup.
One thing the Bulldogs are not is tall. Folsom is the tallest listed starter at 5-foot-8 and she and her teammates will have to contend with EL’s 6-1 center Jordyn Reynolds.
“We’ll try to double down in the post,” said Donato, whose team was able to limit Hampden’s 6-2 center Bailey Donovan in a recent win. “For years we didn’t have a problem with size,”
That’s because the Bulldogs had 6-1 center Nia Irving and she led the KVAC in rebounding for four straight years, also going over the 1,000 point mark as a junior. Donato recently took his team to watch Irving play at Boston University against Lehigh where she scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
With Irving in the fold, the Bulldogs have beaten the Red Eddies four straight games. The goal remains the same although the task is more difficult.
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There’s a good chance Richmond could run the regular season table and finish at 18-0. The Bobcats are currently 15-0 and in first place in the Class C South standings with games remaining against Hyde, Hebron and Valley. They’re already beaten Hyde and Hebron handily and Valley is near the bottom of the Class C South standings.
The challenge for Richmond will be in the Class C tournament. Until a couple of years ago, the Bobcats were in Class D and still play many of those teams on their schedule. Last season they were the top seed in the tournament and were upset by Searsport. Coach Mike Ladner said his team is better prepared this season after beefing up its regular-season schedule and playing some top Class C teams in the preseason and over Christmas break.
They’re playing better lately as evidenced by decisive wins against North Yarmouth Academy and Rangeley.
“I think our offense is starting to catch up with our defense,” Ladner said. “We’ve taken less shots but we’ve taken better shots ever since the Vinalhaven games”
The Bobcats squeaked out a pair of wins over the Vikings at home against an effective zone. North Yarmouth tried the same strategy but the Bobcats responded with eight 3-pointers. They followed that up with a 45-18 win against a Rangeley team that had been playing well.
“We went inside to (Sydney) Tilton against Rangeley, Ladner said.
The 5-foot-10 junior, who led the Bobcats with 26 points, has averaged a double-double for the season. Senior Mackenzie Abbott is averaging 13 points a game while sophomore Caitlin Kendrick has been a consistent three-point shooter. Senior point guard Meranda Martin leads the defense and is averaging six points, six assists and six rebounds a game.
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Hall-Dale recently won its first game of the season by defeating Wiscasset 40-28. The win meant little as far as the Class C tournament standings go, but a lot to a team short on experience.
“It was a big weight off our shoulders,” Hall-Dale coach Jarod Richmond said. “It was a nice sense of validation.”
The validation derives from the consistent hard work the Bulldogs are putting in despite their record. They’ve also had to deal with injuries to starters Jill Whynot and Amanda Benner, who were lost halfway through the season.
“A lot of girls have had to step up and do things as sophomores they would never get asked to do,” Richmond said. “It changed things drastically.”
Scoring has been a problem for the team, Richmond said, “because we can’t put the whole equation together.”
But effort has not. “One thing we’ve heard from other coaches is the girls don’t quit.
Kayla Searles has moved into the point guard position while Cat Kincaid leads the team in rebounds and Sabrina Freeman in scoring. Alyssa Bonenfant, Olivia Bourque and Grace Begin have also been contributors. All are sophomores with the exception of Freeman who is a junior.
“We’re returning four of our starting five,” Richmond said. “It’s a great opportunity to have a bounce back season. Now what are you going to do (individually) when the season’s over?”
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