By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
BANGOR, Maine — The Washburn girls made it look easy once again as they rolled to an Eastern Maine Class D championship for the fourth consecutive year and earned a berth into this Saturday’s state title game against Forest Hills of Jackman to try to capture their fourth straight gold ball. The Washburn squad, which was seeded fourth in this year’s tourney, put together dominating first quarters against both No. 1 Schenck of East Millinocket in the regional semifinals Thursday evening and in the finals against No. 2 Van Buren Saturday morning. Thanks to the strong starts, Washburn was never threatened in either contest.
“I just think we work together so well,” said junior forward Joan Overman, “and it seems whenever we get to tournament we play a completely different game and play more as a unit. I think we like the spotlight.”
That was evident Thursday against the Wolverines, the top-ranked team in the division, in the 78-57 triumph. The Beavers used their relentless fullcourt pressure to rush out to a 28-9 lead after a quarter of play. All five starters scored points, with senior forward Carsyn Koch leading the way with 10 and Overman adding eight more.
Washburn forced Schenck into nine first-quarter turnovers, with many converted into points.
Koch got a quick steal and layup 23 seconds into the game and after Wolverine senior center Morgan Thompson netted a three-pointer to give her team its only lead, Koch scored on a short baseline jumper following a great save under the basket and pass from Overman, who nailed three consecutive field goals in the paint over the next two minutes.
Following a Nicole Olson three-pointer, two foul shots each by Koch and Carmen Bragg and another fast-break layup by Koch, it was 19-6 just 5:20 into the game and the rout was on. Mackenzie Worcester finally got in on the act with a baseline jumper before Bragg’s three-pointer with four seconds left capped the frenetic, yet productive, period.
In the second quarter, Worcester had a couple field goals, as did Olson and Koch, but an 11-for-14 performance from the foul line by the entire team helped the Beavers to a 48-22 lead at intermission. Worcester was six for eight herself from the line during the eight-minute stretch.
The Beavers coasted in the second half, as Schenck was unable to get any closer than 21. Washburn’s second-half highlight was Worcester’s three-point basket from just inside the halfcourt stripe to cap the third quarter.
Worcester had 24 points, Koch 16, Overman 13 and Bragg 12 as part of the attack. Koch had five steals, Overman seven rebounds and Bragg finished six of six from the foul line.
“We haven’t really started clicking until the end of the season and against Schenck it was really working,” said Olson, a senior forward. “It gets crazy when we are all hitting — it’s awesome.”
That was the case again two days later in the title game against the Crusaders and Olson’s hot start from the outside got her team going en route to the 74-51 verdict.
She banged in all four of her three-point attempts in the first quarter and helped put her team up 24-6. Nine Van Buren turnovers also led to transition layups by Overman and Koch, but it was Olson who set the tone.
“I had a hard time in this building at first with the depth perception, but today I hit a couple early and just kept shooting,” Olson said.
“We lost her in the zone,” said Van Buren coach Matt Rossignol. “When she’s hitting those, they are close to impossible to beat.”
When Bragg scored on a baseline jump shot two minutes into the second quarter, all five Washburn starters had again tallied points.
Defensively, the Beavers had the answer against the Crusaders’ Parise Rossignol. The senior guard, who still ended up establishing a Class D tournament record with 89 points in her team’s three games, had a tourney-low of 21 points on nine of 18 shooting from the field. Worcester drew the main defensive assignment and was helped by teammates when Rossignol had the ball in the frontcourt.
“Washburn worked hard to slow her down with two or three quality defenders, so she didn’t get a lot of open looks,” coach Rossignol said.
The Beavers’ largest lead was 24 points (41-17), but Van Buren cut it to 14 on three occasions early in the fourth quarter before Washburn went on a 15-6 scoring run to close out the game.
It was a record-setting day for the Beavers, whose 232 points in the three games of the tournament set a new Class D record. The team’s 88 field goals also is a new tourney record and the 14 three-point field goals they made tied their own mark from last year and Shead of Eastport’s from 1998.
Koch had 19 points, eight rebounds and two steals, while Worcester contributed 18 points and seven assists. Olson finished with 17 points, Bragg added eight points and six assists and Overman also scored eight points and had a pair of steals.
Koch said members of her team entered the post-season with a chip on their shoulder.
“A lot of people tended to overlook us,” Koch said. “Many said Class D was wide open and we were here to let them know that it was not.
“We wanted to come out and show that we’re back. We battled injuries — broken hands, sprained ankles and injured shoulders — but we fought back because we are fighters and wanted to win,” she added.
