AUGUSTA — Once Natasha Haley got going, her Rangeley teammates followed along, and the Lakers pulled away for a 55-28 win over Pine Tree Academy in the Class D South girls’ basketball quarterfinals Monday.

“We definitely look for her in a lot of ways,” Rangeley coach Heidi Deery said. “She’s a great player, and we’re preparing for other teams trying to stop her.”

Rangeley opened the game by going more than five minutes without a field goal, and trailed the Breakers 4-3.

Then Haley hit a 3-pointer. Then she hit another trey, and then another to give the Lakers a 12-6 lead after one quarter.

“I just knew that I needed to take them to get confidence,” Haley said. “And that even if I was missing I needed to keep shooting to get out of it.”

Haley scored the Lakers’ first four points of the second quarter, giving her 15 of their first 16 points. Then the rest of the team got going, starting with Vanessa Bisson’s post basket and, Winnie LaRochelle’s layup.

Haley said that the difference was the Lakers started running and creating fast breaks.

“We just made a decision that we wanted to score and that we wanted to run the fast break because we knew we’d be successful,” she said.

Haley finished with 18 points in the first half, and 23 in the game.

Haley is the Lakers’ only senior, and most of the team is underclassmen, including a pair of eighth-graders, LaRochelle and Emily Eastlack.

“With the exception of Tash, we had a pretty young group out there,” Deery said. “And so sometimes their inexperience shows, I think, in their decision-making on the court.”

Deery didn’t like Rangeley’s ball movement, but that it improved in the second half.

“You’re not going to play your best game every night,” she said, “but we certainly are capable of playing better, but we definitely are moving the ball better (in the second half), and I felt like we were rebounding the ball better.

Junior Brooke Egan added 13 points, 10 in the second half, for Rangeley. Emily Eastlack had six and Bisson and LaRochelle each scored four.

Adriana DePalma led Pine Tree (5-14) with 11 points. She bounced back after picking up four fouls in the first half to play foul-free and score nine points in the second. Emily Schlisner finished with nine points for the Breakers.

Next up for Rangeley (17-2) is a semifinal matchup with Temple (12-7) on Thursday morning back at Augusta Civic Center.

“It’s definitely nice to get the first one under our belts to get your confidence, get all the jitters out,” Haley said.

The Lakers won both regular-season meeting with Temple: 69-32 at home on Jan. 2, and 41-34 in Waterville on Feb. 6.

Pine Tree Academy’s Regence Sandy fouls Rangeley’s Winnie LaRochelle during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Rangeley’s Brooke Egan eyes the basket guarded by Pine Tree Academy’s Regence Sandy during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Pine Tree Academy’s Alondra Acosta reaches for a loose ball as Rangeley’s Natasha Haley attempts to control it during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Pine Tree Academy’s Adriana DePalma is stopped by Rangeley’s Lauren Eastlack with teammate Rangeley’s Brooke Egan looking to help during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Pine Tree Academy’s Adriana DePalma gets fouled by Rangeley’s Lauren Eastlack as she drives to the basket during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Pine Tree Academy head coach Josh Dayen draws up a play during a timeout during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Rangeley head coach Heidi Deery talks to her team during a time out during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Rangeley players attempted to get an offensive rebound early in the game during a Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Rangeley’s Olivia Pye wrestles for a loose ball early in the game during a Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Rangeley’s Vanessa Bisson gets a shot off in a crowd during a Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Rangeley’s Natasha Haley goes up against Pine Tree Academy’s Regence Sandy in the first half during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Rangeley’s Natasha Haley loses the ball as she tries to get by Pine Tree Academy’s Regence Sandy and Agnes Miongo during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Pine Tree Academy’s Emily Schlisner goes to the basket as Rangeley’s Brooke Egan looks to defend during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Rangeley’s Natasha Haley is guarded closely by Pine Tree Academy’s Agnes Miongo, right, and Regence Sandy during their Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)Pine Tree Academy’s Agnes Miongo loses her balance after being fouled during a Class D South quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Monday. (Brewster Burns Photo)

Copy the Story Link