BANGOR – Central Aroostook of Mars Hill sophomore guard Lilly Burtt knew what was at stake and that she had to be influential in their Class D North championship game against Schenck of East Millinocket at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Saturday afternoon.
And she certainly was.
“I just really wanted to win. It’s a super exciting feeling,” said Burtt.
Burtt had two steals, a crucial offensive rebound, an assist and a free throw in the game’s final 1:23 to lead the second-seeded Panthers to a come-from-behind 43-40 win over the fourth-seeded Wolverines.
The 19-2 Panthers will now take on 21-0 Valley High of Bingham in Saturday’s 1 p.m. state championship game at the Cross Insurance Center.
Schenck finished at 14-7.
The Panthers won it by scoring the game’s final six points over a span of 1:23.
A short Stevi Pierce jumper with 1:23 remaining cut it to a one-point lead for Schenck.
Burtt then fed Maggie Mahan for a layup to give the Panthers the lead for good with a minute left.
Burtt made a steal and was fouled with 35 seconds left.
She made the first free throw but, after missing the second rebound, the aggressive guard attacked the rim and snared the offensive rebound.
Schenck eventually stole the ball but Burtt stole it back immediately with 25.7 seconds to go.
Mahan was fouled and she made one of two with 15.2 seconds left to expand the lead to three and the Wolverines couldn’t tie it.
“When you have a playmaker like that, she’s a coach’s dream,” Central Aroostook coach Cody Tompkins said about Burtt. “She really makes things easier from an Xs and Os standpoint.”
“Lilly is an amazing player,” said CA junior guard Harleigh Allen. “She has come so far this season. She has started shooting more and that has really helped our team. She is a great defender and brings fire to our team.”
“We knew she was going to be a good player and she was. She’s tough,” said Schenck head coach Kirsten Hutchins.
Burtt said they knew they needed some extra energy at the end and they were able to provide it.
The Panthers went back to their full-court man-to-man press and it forced a number of turnovers in the fourth quarter that fueled the rally.
“Our press and our defense got us back in it,” said Allen. “We stayed quick on our feet and made some steals. Everybody did an amazing job.”
Tompkins ditched the full-court man-to-man press in favor of a 1-3-1 to try to stay out of foul trouble.
“But we weren’t getting much out of it. So we went back to the man-to-man and risked it all. We put it all on the line. It had gotten us this far,” said Tompkins.
And it worked.
Hutchins said her team didn’t protect the ball well enough.
Burtt finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals along with two assists. Allen had 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals and Mahan had nine points and four steals. Stevi Pierce netted eight points and Charlie Pierce chipped in with four points and seven rebounds.
Junior forward Harlee Sprague had an exceptional game for the Wolverines.
She scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, both game-highs, and she also had two blocked shots and two assists. Abby Hutchins had 12 points, five rebounds and four steals and Mallory Brown had five points, six rebounds and two steals.
Addyson Freeman contributed four points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots and Lidia Matarazzo had seven rebounds and three steals.
Sprague and Brown were an imposing tandem in the paint and anchored a solid defensive performance by Schenck, which led by as many as 10 points in the third period and took a 36-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
Mahan had six of her points during a four-minute stretch in the final period which the Panthers outscored Schenck 8-2 to pull within one with two minutes remaining.
Brown expanded the lead to three with a layup off a Matarazzo pass with 1:45 to go.
Tompkins was proud of his team, saying that “it just speaks to these girls how gritty and determined they are. They’ve had heart all year long. They came through at the end when it mattered and, for that, I’m really thankful.”
“I’m glad they can go home and say they’re a champion,” Tompkins added.
Hutchins was equally proud of her team.
“They played well. They left everything out on the court and that’s what we asked them to do,” said Hutchins.
