AUGUSTA – Second-ranked Hall-Dale rallied twice in the second half to avoid an opening round upset Tuesday. The Bulldogs overcame a strong Boothbay effort and survived with a 52-47 victory.
Caitlyn Laflin led all scorers with 21 points while Chelsey Dionne added 20 for the Bulldogs (17-2). Seventh-ranked Boothbay (13-7) received 11 each from Kayley Gallagher and Alexa Morrison. Nichole Williams added 10.
It was a Morrison basket early in the third quarter that gave the Seahawks a 29-22 lead with 5:50 left in the quarter. Hall-Dale erased that deficit with a Dionne 3-pointer with 3:49 left. A Laflin basket followed to put Hall-Dale ahead 31-30.
The two clubs traded the lead late in the third, but Joyce Chagan made it 37-36 entering the final quarter. A Lauren Andrewz drive put Boothbay up 39-36 with 7:04 left, but the Seahawks couldn’t hold the lead. Boothbay turned the ball over, missed some key shots and let fouls give the Bulldogs life. Dionne hit four free throws to put Hall-Dale back in front with 5:57 remaining. She added a turnaround jumper for a 42-39 lead with 5:15 left.
Boothbay stayed within reach until a Dionne basket made it 47-42 with 2:30 remaining. Four points by Laflin provided a seven-point advantage. An Ali Hartley 3-pointer got Boothbay within 51-47 but the Seahawks couldn’t get closer
Hall-Dale advances to Thursday’s semifinal to meet Wiscasset.
Wiscasset 57, Traip 44
AUGUSTA – Wiscasset won its first-ever quarterfinal game after seven unsuccessful tries.
The Redskins built a 10-point lead in the opening quarter and held off Traip Academy for a 57-44 win.
An 11-0 run helped Wiscasset take command. The Rangers clawed their way back but could never get closer than five points the rest of the way.
Though Traip beat Georges Valley last year in the quarterfinals, that was the Rangers’ lone victory against MVC teams since 1991.
WMC teams are now 9-25 against MVC clubs in the last 13 years.
Sarah Whitfield scored 16 points for third-ranked Wiscasset (14-5). Amanda Davis had 14 while Colby Graffam added 13.
No. 6 Traip (12-6) received 12 points from Kasey Connor and 10 from Ali Higgins.
Traip struggled to keep pace early, shooting 8-for-37 in the first half. Wiscasset shut down the inside and forced the Rangers to answer from the perimeter. Traip missed its first four shots in the game and hit two of its first 11.
Winners of seven of its last nine outings, Traip took a 5-4 lead on a jumper from Kelly Finneran and rebound by Ashley Modica. Wiscasset answered that an 11-0 spurt. Jessie Matzell sparked the surge with a three-point play to put the Redskins up 7-5 with 4:41 left in the quarter.
A Davis rebound was followed by a hoop off the fast break from Whitfield. Davis added a short jumper and Matzell scored on a press breaker for a 15-5 lead with 2:43 left in the quarter.
Traip trimmed that deficit to 15-10 late in the quarter. Conner hit a 3-pointer and Higgins added a pair of free throws with 1:31 left. Two free throws by Davis had the Redskins up 17-10 after one.
Though Wiscasset struggled to put Traip away, the Redskins hit the shots when it mattered most. The Rangers closed within six to start the third quarter, but two baskets by Davis and one from Graffam answered that.
In the fourth, Traip got within five twice and were down 47-41 after a Conner 3-pointer with 3:55 left. Each time, the Redskins responded with key hoops.
Girls’ Class D
Valley 51, Vinalhaven 45
AUGUSTA – Just about any player who misses a dozen consecutive shots in a basketball tournament game will turn gun-shy, let every other element of their game slide and sulk her way through the fourth quarter.
Fortunately for Valley, that’s not Kristin Baker’s style. The junior point guard kept driving, dishing, shooting and drawing fouls Tuesday morning. It paid off with a decisive flurry of late free throws in No. 5 Valley’s 51-45 Western Class D girls’ quarterfinal win over No. 4 Vinalhaven.
Baker hit six of eight free throws after Vinalhaven’s Brianna Osgood cashed in down low with 3:03 left in regulation. In the process, Osgood scored her 1,000th career point and gave the Vikings a 45-42 lead.
It didn’t last, though, as Allyse Wheeler also nailed three of four from the line to push the Cavaliers (14-4) into Thursday’s semifinals. They’ll meet unbeaten, top-seeded Rangeley.
Valley beat Vinalhaven for the third time this winter. The Cavaliers lost twice to Rangeley.
Baker sputtered from the field throughout, but she scored 10 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Jeri-Dee Fitzmaurice, a 5-foot-10 junior forward, led Valley with 19 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out with 3:10 to go. With Fitzmaurice in foul trouble, Vinalhaven (12-5) rallied from an eight-point deficit by dumping the ball inside to Osgood.
Osgood paced the Vikings with 22 points and 11 rebounds. She scored nine in the fourth, when the teams exchanged the lead five times.
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