Anna DeWolfe and Camille Clement took turns scoring in bunches, and their Greely girls’ basketball teammates turned up the defensive intensity Monday.
The result? The Rangers proved too much for Leavitt in the Class A state tourney – again – and rolled to a quarterfinal win at the Portland Expo, 83-40.
DeWolfe made six straight shots and scored 14 of her game-high 29 points in the second quarter. Clement, a freshman in her first playoff game, had 14 of her 28 points in the third quarter on 5-of-5 shooting.
“We know if we share the ball we’re a lot harder to guard,” said Greely Coach Todd Flaherty.
Leavitt lost to Greely 58-36 in a 2016 semifinal. Last season it was 75-36 in a quarterfinal. So the Hornets knew what to expect. Handling it was harder.
Greely forced 16 first-half turnovers and scored 76 points in three quarters.
“They’re obviously a great team and when you have that many players that can play at that type of intensity, it’s not real surprising,” said Hornets senior Sophia Gilbert (12 points).
Taylor White scored 16 points for Leavitt (9-10).
No. 2 Greely (17-2) will face No. 3 Marshwood (18-1) in a 10 a.m. semifinal Wednesday at the Cross Insurance Arena in another playoff rematch. Greely beat Marshwood 46-35 in a semifinal last year.
This season Marshwood hasn’t lost to a Class A team. Greely’s losses were to Class A South top seed Brunswick (without DeWolfe) and AA South No. 1 South Portland.
“They’re formidable. We’ve kind of had our one eye on them all year,” Flaherty said.
Marshwood has a combination of size, athletic ability and depth that can cause matchup problems for Greely, essentially a five-guard lineup.
“They play with a lot of intensity, they go deep in their bench, but we’re going to play our game, focus on ourselves and play the way we play,” DeWolfe said.
Against Leavitt, the Rangers took an 18-3 lead when the left-handed Clement knocked down a 3-pointer, and promptly stole the ball and scored.
“She’s not afraid at all,” said Flaherty of Clement. “I was kind of expecting something like what we saw today. She doesn’t play like a freshman, that’s for sure.”
DeWolfe is a three-year starter and has committed to Fordham. She can and often does take over a game but “was definitely deferring early on,” Flaherty said.
That helped Clement and Brooke Obar (10 points, six assists) get in the flow and Julia Martel chased long rebounds and harassed on defense.
But when DeWolfe kept finding herself open, she obliged. Her personal 14-point spree capped by back-to-back 3-pointers extended the lead to 49-15.
“I think that’s most important to get everyone involved and keep the energy up,” DeWolfe said. “But just take it if you’re open and be confident when you’re shooting.”
Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or:
scraig@pressherald.com
Twitter: SteveCCraig
Send questions/comments to the editors.
