AUGUSTA — No. 3 seed Greenville forced 26 turnovers to beat No. 1 Rangeley 41-20 in the Class D South girls’ basketball final Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center.
It’s the first regional title for Greenville since 2010. The Lakers (15-6) will meet Southern Aroostook in the state championship game next Saturday at Cross Insurance Arena in Bangor.
“It’s just crazy … we knew we were good at softball, and decent at soccer. But we never thought we’d come here in basketball,” Greenville forward Halle Pelletier said.
“Our new coaches, Maren (Mason), Dawna (Blackstone) and Tyler (Muzzy), we mold together so well, everyone loves each other, and everyone loves playing basketball now. It’s awesome.”
Rangeley ends its season with a 19-2 record.
“I’m going to give all the credit to Greenville,” Rangeley Coach Heidi Deery said. “They played a great game. They were well coached. It wasn’t our day. I felt like we prepared for what they did, but didn’t necessarily execute it.”
Up 14-11 at halftime, Greenville dominated the third quarter, outscoring Rangeley 17-0. Rangeley was 0 for 8 from the floor.
“Our defense won us the game,” said Mason, Greenville’s head coach. “We implemented a 1-3-1 (zone) a week or two ago, assuming we may see Rangeley in this game. It started well, then they figured it out by putting two underneath. Then we had to go 2-3, which is our base defense. And they just played amazing today, (our) defense was incredible.”
Offensively, Greenville was led by Pelletier. Using her size advantage, the 5-foot-10 Pelletier was a force in the post and finished with 17 points.
“I knew I had height on them,” Pelletier said. “So (passers) were finding me, and I can seal and get the lob pass every single time.”
Morgan Noyes scored nine points for Greenville, while Bianca Breton added eight.
Aside from the turnovers, Rangeley struggled offensively, making just three field goals in the second half. Olivia Pye led Rangeley on the offensive end in the first half, scoring eight of her 10 points. Lauren Eastlack took over in the second half, scoring seven of her eight points.
The game was the first meeting this season between the two programs. Rangeley will return the majority of its team next season, as guards Brooke Egan and Kylie Collins are the only seniors.
“I just think, it certainly didn’t show today, but throughout the season, we had a lot of grit and discipline,” Deery said of her team. “For the most part, they stayed very coachable throughout the season. I think they were a little frustrated with our offense in the first half, and instead of coming out determined to make a change, they were looking to see who was going to change it. It really needed to be all of them.”
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