AUGUSTA – It wasn’t the heftiest comeback in regional tournament history on the scoreboard, but No. 3 Greely’s 53-45 freezeout of No. 6 Fryeburg in a Western Class B girls’ quarterfinal Friday afternoon set a standard for stark contrasts.
Looking the part of reigning state and two-time defending regional champions, the Greely Rangers hit eight of their 14 shots from the spacious Augusta Civic Center floor in a decisive third-quarter run.
For the rest of the game? 4-for-36.
Greely (14-5) erased a 10-point halftime deficit by luring taller Fryeburg into foul trouble and then wreaking havoc in the paint and at the free-throw line. The Raiders saw 6-foot-2 Ana Nikolic, 6-0 Meredith Wheeler, 5-8 Carissa Allain and 5-7 Coreen Hennessy each saddled with four fouls early in the second half. All but Hennessy eventually fouled out.
Emma Dickson led Greely with 21 points after scoring only a pair of free throws in the first half. She also pulled down 14 rebounds. Brigitte Demers scored 16 of her 20 points in the second half, complementing the outburst with five steals.
Greely went 28-for-40 from the line, ending one shy of the Western Class B single-game record.
Fryeburg (12-7) frittered away a second-half lead against the defending champion in the quarterfinals for the second straight season. Gray-New Gloucester provided last year’s heartbreak for the Raiders, who haven’t won a game in Augusta since 1997.
Hennessy, a freshman, led Fryeburg with 12 points. Nikolic notched 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Allain added nine points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Gorham 56, York 54
Some Western Maine tournaments come and go without one buzzer-beater. This winter’s first is already in the books.
Senior Rachel Deans rattled home a foul-line jumper with one second left to help No. 5 Gorham escape with a 56-54 Class B quarterfinal victory over No. 4 York.
Gorham (13-6) saw its 10-point lead evaporate over the final six minutes. Ashley Towle restored a 54-53 edge by hitting two free throws with 19 seconds remaining in regulation.
Kayleigh Barrett sank the first of two freebies to tie it for York (12-7) with 10 seconds to go before Deans dropped her leaner from the top of the key.
Maura Roche scored eight of her team-high 12 points for York in the fourth quarter after Gorham built a 44-34 cushion. Mary Beaman (11 points) started the comeback with a traditional 3-point play.
Kelsey Wilson led the Rams with 18 points. Ashley Wood added a dozen, including a big bucket with 1:02 left.
Lake Region 51, Falmouth 39
Lake Region stole its first Western B girls’ quarterfinal win in six years.
No, the Lakers didn’t benefit from any controversial calls. This was good, old-fashioned theft, driven by defense, as No. 2 Lake Region smothered No. 7 Falmouth for the second time this winter, 51-39.
Kim Rivet finished with 11 points, including three 3-pointers, and made seven swipes to take command at both ends of the floor for the Lakers (17-2). Lake Region, which beat Falmouth 45-22 during the Western Maine Conference campaign, forced 29 turnovers.
Samantha Allen led all scorers with 19 points for Lake Region. Kate Callahan added nine points and seven rebounds.
Lake Region broke a 17-17 tie with 13 unanswered points to conclude the first half. Allen scored three baseline buckets in the surge, leading her team to a semifinal date with Greely next Wednesday.
Jill Jones topped Falmouth (11-9) with 14 points and nine rebounds.
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