By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

PORTLAND – Olivia Ryan was barely around for Gray-New Gloucester’s two regular season losses to Greely.

The Patriots’ junior center thought she could show the Rangers something they hadn’t seen before in Saturday’s girls’ Western Class B quarterfinal.

“I kind of felt like a secret weapon,” said Ryan, a 6-footer who missed the first game with a sprained ankle and made only a token appearance in the second because of the flu. “I was really pumped going into this game.”

The Patriots had another secret weapon at their disposal, too – a variety of zone defenses that flustered the third-seeded Rangers and, along with Ryan’s game-high 16 points, furnished a 41-33 upset win for sixth-seeded Gray-New Gloucester.

Gray-New Gloucester moves on to face No. 2 York in the semifinals on Thursday.

GNG played Greely straight man-to-man the first two times they met. But the 1-3-1 and 1-2-2 defenses they saved for the Cumberland County Civic Center enveloped their top scorers, Megan McDevitt (three points), Kathleen Mathews (two points) and Kristen Biskup (five points).

“We knew who their shooters were, and they didn’t get to shoot,” Patriots coach Harvey Moynihan said. “The first time we played them, they outrebounded us, and they got the loose balls. So the key to us was play one-and-done and don’t let their shooters, McDevitt and Mathews, shoot, and keep the ball out of Biskup’s hands inside.”

The Rangers (14-5) expected a different defensive look from the Patriots (11-8), but could never get untracked. They shot just 26 percent from the field, while GNG was hot from the opening tap and barely cooled off.

“We knew coming in, there was no way they were going to play us man-to-man again,” said Greely coach Jim Seavey. “All week long, all we prepared for was different types of (zones), 2-3, 1-3-1, 1-2-2. We worked on working the ball inside-out, and what do we do today in the game? We go outside in. When you’re not making your shots from the perimeter, that makes it tough.”

The Patriots’ 67-percent field-goal shooting in the first half made it tough, too. Ryan tallied nine of their first 14 points as they built a seven-point cushion early in the second quarter.

“(The quick start) really boosted my confidence,” Ryan said. “I really felt like once I got through my nerves early, the rest of the game I could do just fine.”

Gray-New Gloucester led by as much as 11 in the first half, but could never pull away because Greely finished each of the first three quarters strong. Third-quarter 3-pointers by Mackenzie Ross and McDevitt kept the Rangers within striking distance heading into the fourth quarter. Buckets by Ryan and Ana Danieli kept Greely at a safe distance for the rest of the game, though.

Teal Bryan led the Rangers with eight points. Chelsey Durgin finished with 10 points and Jen Farynaz nine for the Patriots.