D South girls basketball final: Rangeley a heavy favorite but expects challenge

AUGUSTA — Rangeley girls basketball coach Heidi Deery has led the Lakers to six regional crowns (1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2015, 2016) over her 25 seasons, winning state titles in 1993, 2004 and 2016.

The top-seeded Lakers will have the chance to add regional title No. 7 under Deery on Saturday when they play Greenville at the Augusta Civic Center. The teams didn’t meet in the regular season.

The game will be a shot at redemption for Rangeley, which dropped a 59-49 decision to Vinalhaven in the regional title game last season.

“They’re going to be a real tough team,” Deery said. “They’re well-coached. They have a lot of things to contend with, as far as height and their guard play. We certainly need to bring our best game.”

After dropping a 39-37 contest to Buckfield on Dec. 14, Rangeley (19-1) has won 16 straight.

Rangeley sank No. 8 Seacoast Christian 56-23 in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Valley 50-29 in the semifinals.

“We’ve got to play 32 minutes (of basketball),” Deery said. “We’re going to have runs, they’re going to have runs. We want our runs to be longer than theirs, and we want to stop theirs.”

Rangeley has multiple weapons on offense, and on any given night one of the Lakers’ starting five can put up double-digit numbers. In the quarterfinal win over Seacoast, Winnie LaRochelle led Rangeley with 19 points, while Brooke Egan scored 12 and Olivia Pye added 10.

In the semifinal victory over Valley, it was Pye leading the way with 17 points, while LaRochelle added 11.

Rangeley will have no pushover in No. 3 Greenville (14-6), which has boasted a strong defense during the playoffs. The Lakers held Pine Tree Academy to just 16 points in the quarterfinals and beat No. 2 Temple Academy 50-29 in the semifinals.

Junior center Halle Pelletier has been Greenville’s most consistent scorer, averaging 12 points per game in the playoffs. She has also received help offensively from guard Morgan Noyes and guard Jessica Pomerleau.