Monmouth’s Hannah Anderson goes up against Boothbay’s Kate Friant during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.

AUGUSTA — The Monmouth Academy girls’ basketball team split with Boothbay during the regular season. So coming into Thursday’s game with the second-seeded Seahawks, the third-seeded Mustangs knew what they needed to do to earn the victory.

Out-of-this-world free-throw shooting and the hot hand of junior guard Tia Day, the Mustangs downed the Seahawks 39-30 in Thursday’s Class C South semifinal at Augusta Civic Center.
Day netted a game-high 20 points, and sank nine free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for Monmouth.

“She’s phenomena,l” Monmouth coach Scott Wing said. “She was great from the line today. Once we were able to see how they were going to defend her, we were able to set screens for Tia to open her up.”

“I knew I needed to come out and shoot more 3s. I didn’t against Waynflete, so I wanted to today,” Day said. “I felt pretty confident shooting as I’ve worked on some things.”

Monmouth’s defense took Boothbay’s Page Brown and Nicole Clarke out the game underneath by forcing them to take shots farther from the hoop than they’d like. As a result, Boothbay recorded 20 offensive boards but had only 22 points inside the paint to show for it. Brown finished with 12 points, while Clarke scored eight in the loss. The Seahawks’ second-leading scorer, Faith Blethen, was held to eight points.

“Our kids know what to do against these girls. It’s the fifth time this group of girls have played this team the last two years,” Wing said. “Our kids are a group of gritty, scrappy kids. These girls have heart and listen to what they’re told to do. I’m real proud of them.”

Day put the Mustangs on the board with a long 3, and Emily Grandhal added a pair of buckets to give Monmouth a 7-6 lead after one quarter.

Day connected on a pair of 3-pointers early in the second, building the lead to 13-8. A baseline drive and a nifty lay up by Day and two free throws apiece from Julia Johnson and Abby Ferland extended the Mustangs’ lead to 19-14 at the half. Ferland finished with six points, including 4-for-4 at the line.

Boothbay clawed its way back in the third quarter by holding the Mustangs to two field goals. Blethen was found underneath for a couple of layups, while Brown scored five of her 12 points in the third to knot the game at 23 after three quarters.

Brown’s fourth foul of the contest with 3:39 left put Monmouth in the bonus, and Day hit a pair of free throws to extend the Mustang’s lead to 30-27. After exchanging free throws, Monmouth began killing the clock, forcing Boothbay to foul. With 53 seconds left, Day was sent to the line again and her free throws, finishing a 9-for-10. As a team, Monmouth went 18-22 from the line.

“That’s like we normally play. We typically shoot 68-69 percent. We shot horribly on Monday against Waynflete, but this was more like it,” Wing said.

“Yeah, we worked hard on it the last couple of days, since we didn’t do so well,” Day added.

Monmouth’s Abbey Allen powers past Boothbay’s Nicole Clarke and Kate Friant during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.The Monmouth boys’ basketball team and fans of the girls’ basketball game say “Whoosh” in unison during a completed free throw during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Monmouth’s Abbey Allen keeys her eye on the basket as she moves up for a shot past Boothbay’s Nicole Clarke during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Monmouth’s Audrey Fletcher looks for a teammate to pass the ball to during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Monmouth’s Abbey Allen throws a ball up to the basket during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Monmouth’s Hannah Anderson goes up for a basket during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Monmouth’s Hannah Anderson launches up for a layup past Boothbay’s Page Brown during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.

Monmouth’s Abbey Allen drives down the court during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.The Monmouth’s girls’ basketball team celebrates after beating Boothbay in Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Monmouth’s Emily Grandahl drives betweens Boothbay’s Faith Blethen and Nicole Clarke during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Monmouth’s Emily Grandahl drives betweens Boothbay’s Faith Blethen and Nicole Clarke during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Monmouth’s Abby Ferland looks past Boothbay’s Page Brown for a teammate to pass the ball to during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Boothbay’s Nicole Clarke gets a couple fingers in the way of Monmouth’s Julia Johnson’s layup during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Monmouth’s Hannah Anderson twists away form Boothbay’s Sydney Meader and Nicole Clarke during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.Monmouth’s Abby Ferland takes a shot during Thursday afternoon’s Class C South girls’ semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.

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