Anna Turgeon scored 25 points and third-seeded Falmouth survived a scare, rallying past sixth-seeded Morse for a 41-29 victory in the opening Class A South girls’ basketball quarterfinal Monday at the Portland Expo.
Falmouth (14-5) will play in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Expo.
After trailing by eight points early in the second quarter and 20-15 at the half against a team it beat by 21 three weeks ago, Falmouth rallied behind Turgeon’s shooting and a defense that limited the Shipbuilders (8-11) to nine points in the final two quarters.
“We expected them to be nervous. We’re a young team with no seniors and only two girls had played in the tournament,” said Falmouth Coach Dawn Armandi.
But the Navigators picked up defensively in the second half as they overcame the absence of playmaker Emily Abbott (“our third-best player,” said Armandi), who was out because of a non-COVID illness.
Falmouth’s first second-half lead came on Katie Lozoraitis’ layup off a steal, making it 26-25 late in the third quarter. The Navigators went ahead for good on Sloane Ginevan’s basket that made it 28-27 with 6:42 left, part of a game-ending 17-4 surge.
Dakota Shipley led Morse with eight points.
BRUNSWICK 72, BIDDEFORD 21: Logan Brown hit three 3-pointers in a one-minute span early in the second quarter as the top-seeded Dragons (17-2) extended an early lead and surged into the Class A South semifinals by defeating the ninth-seeded Tigers (7-12).Brunswick was unbeaten until losing two of its final three regular-season games, but had no trouble in its third meeting with the Tigers. The Dragons previously beat Biddeford by 30 and 17 points.The Dragons led 20-4 after the first quarter, then scored the first 17 points of the second in building a 39-9 halftime lead.The victory set up a rematch with fourth-seeded Mt. Ararat (14-6) at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Expo. Mt. Ararat beat the Dragons 56-46 in the regular-season finale nearly two weeks ago.Brown and Sophia Morin scored 13 points each for Brunswick. Kelsie Carlton added 12 and Lexi Morin 10.
Biddeford, which reached the quarterfinals by winning at Freeport in a play-in game, was led by Hannah Gosselin with six points and five rebounds.
SEACOAST CHRISTIAN 49, PINE TREE ACADEMY 32: The third-seeded Guardians (11-6) took control with a 20-5 advantage in the second quarter as they advanced to the Class D South semifinals with a victory over the sixth-seeded Breakers (8-11) at the Augusta Civic Center.
Breckyn Winship paced Seacoast with 18 points and six rebounds. Kaitlyn Jandreau scored 11 points, and Ellie Leech had eight points and seven assists for the Breakers, who next face No. 2 Rangeley on Thursday morning.
Pine Tree’s Paige Tyson scored 17 points. Eliana Tardiff chipped in with 10.
RANGELEY 59, TEMPLE ACADEMY 44: Winnie LaRochelle and Emily Eastlack sparked a 13-3 run at the start of the second half as the second-seeded Lakers (11-3) pulled away from the seventh-seeded Bereans (3-13) in a Class D South quarterfinal in Augusta.
LaRochelle ended the first half with six straight points to give Rangeley a 26-25 lead, then got 18 of her 34 points in the second half.
Ella Baker scored 23 points for Temple.
SCHENCK 54, DEER ISLE-STONINGTON 38: Kristin Russell scored 21 points as the fifth-seeded Wolverines (14-6) defeated the fourth-seeded Mariners (17-2) in a Class D North quarterfinal at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Abbi Perreault added 13 points, while Lidia Matarazzo and Hannah Sewall each chipped in with nine.
Macey Brown had 11 points, and Taytum Chase and Luna Perry-St. Peter each finished with 10 for Deer Isle-Stonington.
SOUTHERN AROOSTOOK 76, SHEAD 27: Madison Russell scored 12 of her 21 points in the first quarter as the top-seeded Warriors flew out to a 38-2 edge and after only eight minutes against the ninth-seeded Tigers (7-12) in a Class D North quarterfinal in Bangor.
Madison Shields and Cami Shields tossed in 12 points apiece.
Ashlee Morang had 22 points for Shead.
The Warriors next face No. 5 Schenck on Thursday afternoon.
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