AUGUSTA – Eighteen years, the last time the Hall-Dale Bulldogs sniffed a regional championship game in girls’ basketball, their world revolved around Rachel Bouchard.

It was the supporting cast, however, who made Hall-Dale deep and diverse enough to win the Gold Ball.

This year’s Bulldogs demonstrate a similar persona. While six-foot stars Caitlyn Laflin and Chelsey Dionne provided their usual dominating presence, it was the occasional big shot by somebody else that pushed No. 2 Hall-Dale past No. 3 Traip, 43-30, in Thursday’s Western Class C semifinal at Augusta Civic Center.

Laflin (14 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) and Dionne (13 points, 11 rebounds) lived up to their reputation, but Heather St. Pierre, Beth Brann and Darcy Ward each nailed an early 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs (18-2) a cushion that held up throughout a frosty second half.

The guard play of St. Pierre, Ward, Kate Brown and Laflin, who spent more time out on the perimeter than usual, nullified Traip’s plans to run the Bulldogs into submission.

“We thought we’d be OK

if we could withstand their pressure,” said Hall-Dale coach Sam Hayes, whose

sister was in the lineup with Bouchard in 1986 when the Bulldogs ruled Class C.

For the third time in 22 days, Hall-Dale will get a crack at unbeaten and nine-time reigning regional champion Dirigo. The Western Maine final tips off at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Hall-Dale trailed briefly in the first half before using a 10-0 run, bookended by the St. Pierre and Brann treys, to snag a 19-10 advantage.

Ward and Laflin each knocked one down from beyond the arc in the final 2:02 to make it a 25-16 halftime lead.

Two Dionne buckets highlighted an 8-2 surge to open the third, and the Bulldogs, while hardly setting the floor afire (15-for-55 shooting), rode their smothering defense from there.

Traip (13-5) committed 27 turnovers in all and missed its first 11 shots of the fourth quarter, short-circuiting any Rangers’ rally aspirations.

Kasey Connor topped Traip with 10 points.

Laflin, held scoreless in the third period, scored six of Hall-Dale’s 11 points in the fourth.

“She rebounds, she scores and she plays defense,” Hayes said of the sophomore.

Hall-Dale’s starting lineup, comprised exclusively of freshmen and sophomores, will need that versatility to offset the peaks and valleys likely against the championship game-tested Cougars.

“We haven’t been able to play a consistent game from start to finish,” Hayes said. “I’m not sure we can do that, as young as we are.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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