Throughout the past four seasons, the scouting report on Greely High School girls basketball standout Anna DeWolfe has been — give her a millimeter and she’ll take you to the house.
Brunswick forward Alexis Guptill, center, battles Greely’s Katie Fitzpatrick (22) and Camille Clement (2) for the ball in front of the Dragon bench on Saturday in Portland. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
On Saturday in the Class A South regional final at Cross Insurance Arena, DeWolfe and her Rangers darted out to a big early lead for a 54-33 victory over second-seeded Brunswick.
For the Dragons (19-2), it was a hard pill to swallow this time around as Greely used a 15-1 first quarter scoring advantage to take the starch out of the Brunswick side.
“Greely came out and just beat us,” said Brunswick coach Sam Farrell, who has led his team to three straight Class A South region finals in a row. “There was nothing I could draw up. The things we didn’t want to do we were doing, and the things we didn’t want them to do were happening because we weren’t doing what we wanted to do. Nothing went right, even 1-for-2 from the foul line.”
“We like to start quick,” Greely (21-0) coach Todd Flaherty said. “Offensively we may not have performed as well as we have all year,
Brunswick senior guard Charlotte MacMillan (2) defends Greely’s Anna DeWolfe during Saturday’s Class A South girls regional final at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
but that start was something we were able to maintain.”
DeWolfe was the difference from the outset. She scored the game’s first points, hit a 3-pointer, drove inside for a finger-roll finish and completed the game’s opening 15-0 run with a left-to-right switch and finish. In all, the Greely senior had 11 points in the first eight minutes.
“She is the best player in the state, no question! Some years you can say ‘is it between her or her?’ No, this year Anna DeWolfe is the best player in the state, the end,” Farrell said.
“I told myself that this could be my last game, and I was playing beside all of my best friends,” said DeWolfe. “There is nothing else that I can ask for. I was playing for teammates and my community.”
Brunswick committed eight turnovers in the opening quarter and missed all eight of its field goal tries.
A run
The Dragons found some offense to open the second quarter as senior Rosalie White scored off a pass from Emily Larochelle.
After a basket by Greely’s Camille Clement, Alexis Guptill finished for Brunswick, followed by a 3-pointer by Charlotte MacMillan and a put-back by White to bring the Dragons to within 10 points, 20-10, with 5:37 left until halftime.
“Just like Kennebunk, they got their little run,” said DeWolfe. “We had to settle down and take good shots, then focus on defense.”
DeWolfe again took over, scoring four more points in the first half to finish with 19 as the Rangers carried a 30-12 lead into the intermission.
“We didn’t come out with enough energy and they did. We didn’t make our shots and they did,” said MacMillan after picking up four fouls in the first half.
Brunswick was slowed by 16 first-half turnovers, while Greely committed just one.
“The plus-minus on turnovers is always important, and to be plus-15 in the first half was huge,” said Flaherty, who also praised Julia Martel and Madison Storey on their defensive work against Dragon point guard Marley Groat. “We focused on Marley with Martel and brought Madison Storey off the bench. We made her work hard. We did a nice job of that tonight.”
Brunswick’s Rosalie White (15) has her shot blocked by Greely’s Katie Fitzpatrick (22) during Saturday’s Class A South girls regional final at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. White scored eight points, but her Dragons fell to Fitzpatrick’s Rangers, 54-33. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
Brunswick looked for a spark in the third quarter, but DeWolfe put up seven points, while Clement, Brooke Obar and Julia Martel scored as the Rangers extended their lead to 44-20 after 24 minutes.
The Dragons finished strong, outscoring the Rangers, 13-10 in the fourth quarter despite losing MacMillan (eight points, six rebounds, two steals) to fouls with 2:30 remaining.
“I had the best team, so close, I just love them so much,” said an emotional MacMillan after her final game in the orange and black. “I am so grateful to have been part of Brunswick. They are so supportive. I wouldn’t have traded this team for anything in the world.”
“The first thing I told the girls is you don’t measure a season by one game,” said Farrell. “For those seniors it was four special years. I told the five seniors (MacMillan, Groat, Larochelle, White, Rian Sachs) that they did things that no Brunswick team has ever done, making it to a state final, going undefeated in a regular season and three straight trips here to a regional final. It was magical. Our standards were set so high that no matter what it was going to be devastating.”
DeWolfe, who was named the Brud Stover Award winner as the top player in the Class A South regional tournament, finished with 32 points, 10 steals and three assists. Clement added eight points, while Katie Fitzpatrick pulled in six rebounds and had three assists.
Guptill led Brunswick off the bench with 11 points, eight rebounds and two assists. White matched MacMillan with eight points and pulled in five boards, with Groat adding five caroms and two assists.
Greely faces Class A North champion Hampden Academy for the State Class A title this upcoming Friday at the Augusta Civic Center.
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