AUGUSTA — A year ago, all that Hunter Mercier could do was watch.

The Lawrence guard was part of a state championship-winning team, but an ACL injury early in the season left her outside looking in on the title run.

“It was hard,” the sophomore guard said. “I tore it the second game of the season. I had to sit on the sideline for a long time, so I’ve been wicked excited to be back.”

Mercier wasn’t just observing another Bulldogs championship win Friday. She was right in the thick of it and leading the shooting barrage that broke open an early lead. Messalonskee couldn’t keep pace, and the Bulldogs earned a repeat Class A title with a 59-44 win over the Eagles in the Class A North regional final at the Augusta Civic Center.

Mercier had five 3s in the first half and finished with 15 points. She was two shy of the individual game record of seven. The Bulldogs finished with 10 as a team, leaving them one shy of the tourney mark.

“I’m not surprised at all,” Lawrence senior forward Nia Irving said. “She’s a great shooter and I think her missing last season and coming out to play this game meant that much more to her. She really felt like she was more a part of it this year. I think it was a big deal to her.”

Irving finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds for Lawrence (21-0). In addition to Mercier’s 15 points off the bench, Dominique Lewis added 13, including three 3s.

The defending Class A state champions advance to next Saturday’s final in Portland.

“I’m really excited out it,” said Irving, who was named the tourney’s most outstanding player and will play at Boston University next year. “This team has played so well together. If we play like we did tonight with the outside shooting and me, obviously, playing a lot better, I think we can pull it off.”

Messalonskee (17-4) got 19 from Sophie Holmes and 10 from McKenna Brodeur. Three of the Eagles’ losses this season have been to Lawrence.

“We can say we could have done this or we should have done that, but they did the job,” Messalonsee coach Keith Derosby said. “They really are a great team and people have to give them credit.”

With the Eagles focused on limiting Irving in the post, the constant double and triple teams left perimeter players open. Lawrence got early 3s from Lewis and Morgan Boudreau. The quick 8-0 set the tone for what was to come.

“Our outside shooting has been very good,” Lawrence coach John Donato said. “Prior to the tournament we had some signs of shooting the basketball, but we got away from it. Today, it showed that our outside shooting has been formidable all year.”

It was an opportunity for Mercier to do what she couldn’t do last year. With the defenses sagging off her, she started hitting shots.

“My teammates talked to me and they were like, ‘We need you this game,’” Mercier said. “I just wanted to help them win.”

Lawrence finished the first quarter with a 10-2 run. Mercier had a pair of 3’s during that surge that built an 18-6 lead. In the second, she hit three more. Add in a pair by Lewis and a three-point play by Irving and the Bulldogs were pulling away. Mercier found an open spot in the left corner and made Messalonskee pay every time.

“That’s one of my favorite spots to shoot it,” Mercier said. “So I was wicked excited when I made a couple. They were running a zone. So I just went to the corner.”

It was a struggle for the Eagles to change the momentum. Holmes, one of the top players in the tourney, hit a 3 in the fourth that cut the lead down to 54-42, but that was as close as the Eagles could get.

“The second half, I’m really pleased with the way my kids rebounded and were resilient,” Derosby said. “They didn’t stop playing. I was proud of them.”

Though Lawrence was a favorite to repeat, Donato stressed that this is a very different team from last year. Lewis and Irving are still the foundations, but there’s a lot of new faces this season, many of which have been contributing.

“For us, the monkey’s been on our back,” Donato said. “Everybody says ‘Well you should be back.’ But out of my top seven players, we lost three outstanding players and starters. We have been playing with some young kids. With Nia and Dom leading, these kids stepped up all year.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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