Sixth-seeded Freeport rallied from deficits of 11 and nine points to earn a 58-53 upset win over No. 3 Mt. Ararat in a Class A South girls’ basketball quarterfinal Monday afternoon at the Portland Expo.
Freeport (11-8) trailed 50-46 with three minutes to play. The Falcons tied the game on Angelina Pillsbury’s free throws with 1:52 to play, then took the lead on a basket by Maddie Cormier with 1:01 left.
Pillsbury led Freeport with 26 points, including a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to give the Falcons a 41-39 lead. Isabelle Orlando added 11 points.
Cali Pomerleau led Mt. Ararat with 23 points.
BRUNSWICK 58, WESTBROOK 31: The top-seeded Dragons (17-2) broke open a close game with a 15-0 run in the second quarter and defeated No. 8 Westbrook (11-8) in a Class A South quarterfinal at the Portland Expo.
Brunswick will meet No. 4 Falmouth in the semifinals Wednesday.
Westbrook only trailed 14-9 after one quarter, but then managed just four points in the second quarter while the Dragons built a 33-13 advantage.
Alexis Morin led the Dragons with 16 points. Dakota Shipley added 13 and Kelsie Carlton also finished in double figures with 12.
The Blue Blazes got seven points from Kylie Young.
SEACOAST CHRISTIAN 51, NORTH HAVEN 27: Sophomore Ellie Odess, who missed nearly all of last season because of a heart ailment stemming from COVID-19, tied her career high with 16 points as the third-seeded Guardians (10-9) beat the sixth-seeded Hawks (2-14) in a Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center.
Seacoast, the surprise regional champion in 2022, used a pressing defense to take a 26-8 lead after the first quarter, then settled into a zone and was never threatened.
Ellie Leach, who hurt an ankle early in the fourth quarter but will be ready for Thursday morning’s semifinal, added 16 points for Seacoast. The Guardians will plan No. 2 Forest Hills in a rematch of last year’s regional final.
“She plays so hard, so physical,” said Seacoast Coach Lee Petrie. “She was in the gym shooting at 6 this morning.”
The Guardians, from South Berwick, left at 6:30 a.m. for the 9 a.m. game, the first of eight on Monday in Augusta.
“We picked up kids in Wells, Saco, who make 40-minute rides for practices,” said Petrie.
Hannah White led the Hawks with seven points.
VINALHAVEN 48, PINE TREE ACADEMY 46: Maddie Miller hit two free throws with 8.3 seconds left in overtime as the fifth-seeded Vikings (7-8) rallied from 19 points down to stun fourth-seedd Pine Tree Academy (9-9) in a Class D South quarterfinal at Augusta.
Vinalhaven lost twice to Pine Tree during the regular season, by seven and nine points, and appeared headed to a third loss when it trailed 31-12 after Pine Tree scored the first nine points of the second half. But a switch to full-court pressure made the difference, leading to numerous Pine Tree turnovers.
The Vikings still trailed 37-26 through three quarters, then scored the first 10 points of the fourth. Pine Tree eighth-grader Chantal Bazizane, who finished with 24 points, appeared to rescue her team with a layup after a Julia Brown block. And when Dolci Marden hit two free throws with 1:20 left, Pine Tree led 41-37.
But Miller scored with 1:06 remaining, Adele Wadsworth tied it with 35 seconds left, and it was on to overtime.
Vinalhaven then took a four-point lead and Pine Tree tied it before Miller’s winning free throws.
The Vikings, who won despite committing 35 turnovers in the 36-minute game, will meet top-seeded Valley in the semifinals on Thursday.
FOREST HILLS 42, GREENVILLE 24: Allie Dunning hit four 3-pointers and socred 14 of her 18 points in the first half, starting the second-seeded Tigers (13-6) on their way to a win over the seventh-seeded Lakers (4-15) in a Class D South quarterfinal.
Grace Allen added 15 points.
Jaydyn Boone led Greenville with nine points.
SOUTHERN AROOSTOOK 62, ASHLAND 12: Cami Shields scored 18 points to lead four double-figures scorers, and the top-seeded Warriors (17-5) easily handled the eighth-seeded Hornets (9-11) in a Class D North quarterfinal at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Maddie Shields added 11 points, and Ally Shields and Maddie Russell each finished with 10 for the Warriors, who will play No. 4 Deer-Isle Stonington in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Abby Doughty led Ashland with five points.
DEER ISLE-STONINGTON 45, KATAHDIN 21: Macey Brown scored 17 points, Maya Brown added 10 and the fourth-seeded Mariners (14-5) defeated the fifth-seeded Cougars (9-10) in a Class D North quarterfinal.
Rylee Door added eight points for the Mariners, who steadily pulled away, holding Katahdin to 11 points through three quarters.
Mackenze Landry led Katahdin with 10 points.
HODGDON 47, CENTRAL AROOSTOOK 20: The third-seeded Hawks (18-1) took control with a 29-8 edge over the middle two quarters against the 11th-seeded Panthers (11-9) in a Class C North quarterfinal in Bangor.
Aleyah Matheson paced Hodgdon with 13 points. Anna Oliver got eight of her 10 points in the second quarter, when the Hawks outscored Central Aroostook 17-5 to build a 26-9 lead.
Kira Fitzherbert scored nine points for Central Aroostook.
PENOBSCOT VALLEY 54, SUMNER 16: Ellie Austin scored 16 points as the No. 2 Howlers (18-1) beat the 10th-seeded Tigers (9-11) in a Class C North quarterfinal in Bangor.
Holly Loring and Kaya Loring each added 12 points.
SCHEDULE CHANGES: The Maine Principals’ Association shuffled the tournament schedule at the Augusta Civic Center because of an expected storm, moving Thursday’s games to Wednesday and Friday.
The Class D South girls’ semifinals will now be played Wednesday morning, and the Class C South boys’ and girls’ semifinals are now scheduled for Friday – girls in the morning, boys in the afternoon.
Game times for the Class A North semifinals and finals were also adjusted to accommodate the other changes.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
FOREST HILLS 78, PINE TREE ACADEMY 36: Top-seeded Forest Hills (16-3) opened a 14-0 lead less than three minutes into the game and breezed past eighth-seeded Pine Tree Academy (0-15) in a Class D South quarterfinal in Augusta.
Samuel Batista scored Pine Tree’s first points, a 3-pointer with 4:40 left in the first quarter, but it did little to slow the Tigers. The lead was 29-8 after the first quarter and 56-20 at halftime.
Forest Hills will meet No. 4 Seacoast Christian in the semifinals at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Mason Desjardins scored all of his 21 points in the first half for Forest Hills, which beat Seacoast twice during the regular season, 58-35 and 58-36. Maddox Cuddy added 16 points and Braiden Welch had 14.
Batista and Asher Hart each had eight points for Pine Tree.
MONMOUTH ACADEMY 59, TRAIP ACADEMY 36: Sammy Calder scored 22 points and the second-seeded Mustangs (16-3) pulled away early to defeat the 10th-seeded Rangers (7-12) in a Class C South quarterfinal at Augusta.
Monmouth will meet No. 6 Carrabec in the semifinals Friday.
Traip, which upset Boothbay in a prelim, was hurt early by poor shooting, hitting just 19 percent of its shots in the first half and falling behind 27-10. The Rangers pulled no closer than 15 points.
Traip also hit just 5 of 19 from the free-throw line in the foul-strewn game. In all, 38 fouls were called, 19 on each side.
Manny Calder added 11 points for Monmouth, which led 15-4 after the first five minutes.
Ben Hawkes scored 12 points and Nick Martins had 11 for Traip.
MT. ABRAM 67, OLD ORCHARD BEACH 49: The fifth-seeded Roadrunners (16-3) used a 15-point run spanning the first and second quarters, the held off the fourth-seeded Seagulls (16-3) to reach the Class C South semifinals.
“I knew we were struggling to get stops and score,” said Old Orchard Coach Matt Regan. “We got ourselves in a hole we couldn’t get out of.”
Mt. Abram led 15-13 when the run began. By the time it was over, Old Orchard was down 30-13 and its top player, Landen Johnson, was on the bench with three fouls.
“I told the kids before the game that the biggest key would be the offensive boards,” said Regan. “We had a height advantage but they dominated. They worked so hard. Mt. Abram was a very good team.”
The Seagulls trailed 49-38 through three quarters, then pulled within 50-44 with 5:55 left, but the Roadrunners answered with nine straight points.
“I was watching the Heal points and kind of saw we were heading to a game against Mt. Abram,” said Regan. “I knew it would be tough.”
Payton Mitchell led the Roadrunners with 20 points. OOB’s Johnson finished with.
DIRIGO 66, MADISON 46: Dakota Tompkins led the top-seeded Cougars with 19 points, and Trent Holman and Charlie Houghton each added 14 in a Class C South quarterfinal win over the No. 8 Bulldogs (12-8) in Augusta.
Dirigo, which held a 28-22 halftime edge before breaking the game open with a 20-8 third quarter, will play No. 5 Mt. Abram in the semifinals on Friday.
Callan Franzose was the only player in double figures for Madison, finishing with 15 points.
CARRABEC 55, RICHMOND 42: Luke Carey scored 33 points to lead sixth-seeded Carrabec (13-7) to its first-ever postseason win at the Augusta Civic Center, eliminating the third-seeded Bobcats (15-3) in a Class C South quarterfinal.
Robert Lindholm added nine points, on three 3-pointers.
Hunter Mason led Richmond with 16 points. Connor Vashon finished with 12.
BANGOR CHRISTIAN 63, EASTON 55: Conrad Straubel scored 20 points, Jalen Reed added 17 and Jason Libby had 14 as the fourth-seeded Patriots (15-4) topped the fifth-seeded Bears (14-7) in a Class D North quarterfinal in Bangor.
Owen Sweeney paced Easton with 17 points. Evan Carter finished with 13.
SOUTHERN AROOSTOOK 64, JONESPORT-BEALS 24: Buddy Porter led the top-seeded Warriors (19-0) with 16 points, Dylan Burpee added 15 and Graham Siltz scored 12 in a Class D North quarterfinal victory over the Royals (9-11) in Bangor.
Damon Beal led Jonesport-Beals with 13 points, including the 1,000th of his career.
Southern Aroostook next faces Bangor Christian in the semifinals Thursday morning.
DEXTER 50, LEE ACADEMY 40: Bryce Connor scored 14 points and Kayden Kimball had 12 as the third-seeded Tigers (17-2) downed the sixth-seeded Pandas (11-9) in a Class C North quarterfinal at Cross Insurance Center.
Nick Allard led Lee with 16 points. Andrew Scott chipped in with 10.
FORT KENT 38, GEORGE STEVENS 36: The second-seeded Warriors (15-4) used a 16-4 edge in the second quarter to open a 12-point lead, then held off the No. 7 Eagles (14-6) in a Class C North quarterfinal.
Ethan Daigle scored 18 points to help Fort Kent advance to a semifinal against No. 3 Dexter.
Azaiah Nanson led George Stevens with 16 points.
SKIING
CLASS B ALPINE: Logan Schwartz of Cape Elizabeth and Jaden Boulanger of Mountain Valley won individual slalom titles on the opening day of the Class B Alpine championship at Lonesome Pines in Fort Kent.
Schwartz was the fastest skier in both runs as he finished with a combined time of 1 minute, 8.37 seconds. Thatcher Riley (1:10.89) of Maranacook, Max Bois (1:12.01) of Fort Kent, Edison Sleeper (1:12.06) of Caribou and Keegan Lathrop (1:12.51) of Cape Elizabeth rounded out the top five.
Boulanger and her sister, Lily, went 1-2 in the girls’ race. Jaden Boulanger’s winning time was 1:20.52, just over a minute faster than his sister. They were followed by Breezy Quimby (1:21.85) of Rangeley, Shelby Theriault (1:22.20) of Fort Kent and Ashley Pelletier (1:22.80) of Lake Region.
The Fort Kent girls and Caribou boys hold big leads in the team standings going into Tuesday’s giant slalom races. Fort Kent has 761 points, while Lake Region and Maranacook at tied for second at 720. In the boys’ standings, Caribou has 776 points, followed by Maranacook with 741 and Cape Elizabeth with 725.
BOYS’ HOCKEY
MARSHWOOD 2, GORHAM 2: Andrew Brayne scored on a feed from Joshua Sawyer with 2:13 to play in regulation as Marshwood/Traip/Sanford/Noble (9-6-2) rallied to tie Gorham (7-9-1) at USM Ice Arena.
Andrew Gaudreau opened the scoring for Gorham late in the first. Ayden Lockard countered early in the second, but Jack Reidy put the Rams back in front early in the third.
Jasper Crane recorded 28 saves for Gorham. Sumner Wood stopped 18 shots for the Knighthawks.
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