Dexter’s height works to its advantage.
AUGUSTA – It hasn’t been a good week for streaks.
The Valley boys, who had their run of state titles, came to a close Saturday while the New Jersey Nets watched a winning streak end.
The Dirigo girls’ basketball team didn’t fare any better Saturday night. Their success at the Augusta Civic Center was certainly in peril against an unbeaten Dexter team. Concerns about Dexter’s size advantage became reality as the Tigers avenged last season’s loss in the Class C state championship.
Dexter opened up a three-point halftime lead in the second half with a strong third quarter, and the Cougars couldn’t match it as Dexter won 50-31.
“We knew we were going to have to play a pretty much flawless game,” said Dirigo coach Gavin Kane. “I thought we worked our tails off defensively. There’s not much you can do when you’re trying to defend that kind of size. One of the things that hurt us was a couple of kids came off the bench and had some key hoops for them.”
The loss ended Dirigo’s run of 34 straight wins at the Augusta Civic Center, dating back to 1994, and halted its overall winning streak at 66 games.
“We don’t have anything to be ashamed of,” said Kane. “To come in here with one returning starter and to go undefeated during the season and win the Western Maine title, I’m very, very proud of these girls.”
Dexter (22-0) features the Ames sisters, 6-foot-4 Ashley, a junior, and 6-6 Mallory, a freshman. While they created matchup nightmares for the Cougars, the Tigers guards did plenty of damage as well. Brittany Veazie and Keriann Patterson each had 10 points for Dexter, which lost in overtime to the Cougars in Bangor last year. The guards hit key outside shots early.
“We knew we had to step up because we figured they would try to double Ashley and Mallory,” said Veazie. “We needed to open things up and we were going to have to step up and put the ball in.”
The Ames sisters were held to eight points combined in the first half. Mallory finished with nine while Ashley had eight. Still, their presence was enough to frustrate the Cougars on offense. Alexa Kaubris had 10 for Dirigo while Brooke Weston and Michelle Holmquist each had six.
After a hitting some outside shots early, Dirigo couldn’t get the same looks later on. The Cougars shot just 2-for-11 in the second quarter and 5-for-18 in the second half.
“Once we got down by eight points in the third quarter, every single offensive possession was critical for us,” said Kane. “They did a very good job defensively, but at the same time, we weren’t very effective offensively.”
Dirigo went with a zone early to try and frustrate the Tigers. A couple of Veazie 3’s helped Dexter build an early 13-4 lead. The Cougars settled in and were within 23-20 at halftime, but Dexter quickly seized the momentum in the third quarter. The Tigers came out and scored seven straight baskets. Patterson scored on a drive and Ashley Ames hit two free throws. After a Mallory Ames free throw, Ashley Ames scored in the post for a 30-20 lead.
Though Dirigo (21-1) erased a nine-point deficit in the first half, the Cougars couldn’t find the offense it needed to rally a second time.
“We knew the defensive intensity was what we needed,” said Veazie. “We were a little lax in the first half with our defense. In the second half, we just stepped it up with our defense.”
Dirigo moved to within 34-28 late in the third, but didn’t score again until 1:43 remained in the game, going 7:40 without a field goal. Kaubris fed Holmquist for a basket and Weston hit a jumper to get Dirigo within six. The Cougars couldn’t get any closer or build on its momentum for a strong final quarter. Veazie fed Meagan Fogarty with a pass underneath and Patterson hit a free throw to put the lead back at 37-28 after three. Dexter scored seven straight to open the fourth.
“I knew were weren’t going to be able to string together three or four hoops against this team,” said Kane. “We had some little things that hurt us. It was important to get after every loose ball and every rebound, and we didn’t do that.”
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