FARMINGTON – A quick start was in the cards for the Mt. Blue High School girls’ basketball team in a Class A preliminary game Wednesday night.
The Cougars relied on the inside presence of sophomore Christina Mosher, who scored a game high 28 points, in a 72-42 triumph against No. 13 Gardiner.
No. 4 Mt. Blue (16-3) advances to play Messalonkee in a quarterfinal game Saturday afternoon at the Bangor Auditorium. The Cougars beat the Eagles 37-34 in Farmington in January.
Mt. Blue’s trapping defense forced 31 turnovers and limited the Tigers to 31 percent shooting.
“That’s the plan,” Mt. Blue coach Jeannie Paradis said. “We want to come and force turnovers and create some offense on the transition. In the first half we were able to do that well and it set the tone.”
The Cougars basically had their way in the opening two minutes as Mosher scored three baskets from in the paint. On one occasion, the center grabbed three of her 10 rebounds. Amanda Laney drained a 3-pointer to make the score 11-2.
Gardiner (8-11) couldn’t find an answer to slow down the Cougars roll. Tiger coach Mary Gray, formerly at St. Doms, pleaded with the players to box out and limit the turnovers.
The teams traded baskets in the second quarter before the Cougars essentially iced the game with a 16-0 run. Carlah Robbins scored off a steal and Amy Mansir buried a trey. Mosher followed by scoring a conventional three-point play.
The Cougars led 37-11 before Britney Salley (eight points) scored for the Tigers.
“I thought our intensity level was the difference,” Laney said. “We came out strong in the first half. Our passing game worked well, but we all play together through out the year and people have said it shows.”
Mt. Blue received strong efforts from Laney (10 points) and Mansir and Alyson Webster, who each scored seven points. Bonnie Silkman added six rebounds.
Mt. Blue committed 17 turnovers and shot 46 percent from the floor
“The kids worked real hard,” Paradis said. “I think they just wanted to get back on to the Bangor floor. It was a great team effort.”
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