BANGOR, Maine – With ‘Himalagen’ – the Swedish word for ‘Let’s go’ – as their slogan, and gold on their minds, the Washburn girls’ varsity basketball team opened with a steal off the opening tip of Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class D final, but Lee Academy proved their first-place standing. The Lady Pandas used a pesky, full-court press to force 17 turnovers in the opening half en route to a 65-37 win.
The press created plenty of offensive opportunities for Lee, which capitalized. A steal with three minutes left in the first quarter by Karin Bird got the Lady Pandas out to a 12-2 lead, and 50 seconds later Amanda Gifford got back-to-back fast breaks to extend the lead to 18-2.
“To play Lee you have to handle their pressure and their athletes,” said Washburn head coach Ron Ericson before the game. “They have a bunch of really good players.”
Washburn went to what had been working all season, pulling sophomore center Rachel Palmer off the bench early. Palmer provides the Lady Beavers with a formidable 6-3 presence in the post, but though Lee’s tallest players are listed at only 5-9, the Lady Pandas played taller, disrupting high passes in the middle and doubling Palmer.
Behind 36-9, the Lady Beavers opened the second half with an open jump shot by Erica McDougal and Samantha Cochran disrupted a pass at the opposite end, but just as things started looking up for Washburn, Lee responded with a three-pointer from Aarika Ritchie and a defensive rebound and fast break finish by Gifford to open a 30-point lead.
Washburn went on a 10-4 run in the final three minutes of the third quarter capped by a McDougal three-pointer and never quit fighting in the fourth, but Lee proved too tough. The Lady Pandas earned their second Eastern Maine title in three years and will play for the gold ball this Saturday.
Leading Lee Academy was Gifford with 24 points and five rebounds and Bird with 12 points and three boards.
Washburn was led by Kelsee McLaughlin with 13 points and five rebounds and McDougal with eight points and five boards. Palmer added six points and six rebounds.
In Thursday’s semifinal, the Lady Beavers opened a 23-19 lead in the first half and withstood a second half charge by Greater Houlton Christian Academy for the 49-47 victory.
The Beavers were well in control in the first half, but GHCA mounted a phenomenal comeback, which included a buzzer-beating shot that just wouldn’t fall that would have knotted the game and forced overtime.
With the Beavers leading 48-47 after McDougal (22 points, eight rebounds) hit a free throw with 19.1 seconds left, GHCA had the ball and called a timeout to devise their last play. When Megan Korhonen (19 points) fouled out, the next obvious go-to person for GHCA was Sarah Riopel (13 points, including 3, 3-pointers). In the frenzy, Riopel let her shot go, but it didn’t fall; however, Kasi Parker in good rebounding position, snatched the rebound, and the ball just rolled over the rim at the buzzer.
The Lady Eagles end their season at 19-2.
Seeming as though it was GHCA’s half, Washburn had their work cut out for them. With GHCA mounting the fouls, the Beavers made only two field goals in the decisive final period, as they spent their time on the free throw line. And, they struggled nearly letting the game slip through their fingers, as GHCA sharp-shooting Riopel and Korhonen kept the game a nail-biter.
“Free throws have been our big issue this year, so we come out hard and act like there’s no pressure on us,” McLaughlin said. “We just try to keep it as normal as possible.”
Washburn had built a six-point lead, 45-39 before Riopel cut it in half with her third 3-pointer of the second half. Korhonen then hit the front-end of a two shot foul to slash the lead to a basket, 45-43.
Washburn’s Amy Reed and Alex Bird hit 1-of-2 free throws with under a minute to play, as Washburn clung to a 47-43 lead.
Senior Emma Boutilier, who came in off the bench, went to the line for two shots with 21.2 seconds left and hit the first one.
McDougal grabbed the rebound was fouled, making the first of two shots. After two possession changes, Korhonen hit nothing but net with 12.1 seconds left to bring her team to within a point, 48-47.
Knowing they had to foul with time running out, GHCA’s Korhonen committed her fifth foul with 6.6 seconds left, sending Bird to line where she made one of two shots for the final margin.
Second-half action put fans on the edge of their seats, as the Lady Eagles erased a 20-point deficit that Washburn had forged in first half action.
“Our coach was saying in the locker room at halftime ‘There’s still another half, you have to keep working,’” McDougal said. “We played as hard as we could and they got some good shots and came out hard too, so it was a battle just like in the regular season.”
The Beavers 2-3 zone defense contained GHCA’s shooters early, as the Lady Eagles had only one second-quarter field goal when Korhonen hit from the top of the key. The Beavers opened the second period on an 8-0 run behind McDougal and Reed, as they held a 29-11 lead at the break.
The Lady Eagles ignited on a third-quarter rally. The difference between the halves, defensive intensity in GHCA’s press, which caused Washburn turnovers.
“The girls showed what they have shown all year,” said Cummings. “They never gave up and they have a lot of fight in them. I congratulate the Washburn team. They are a classy bunch. You want to win, but if you do lose, that is the team I would choose. They are a great group of kids as well.”
Washburn built a 31-11 lead to start the second half, but GHCA whittled it down to 10 points, 33-23, using a 12-4 scoring spurt capped by Korhonen’s drive to the hoop.
Washburn’s McDougal hooked a shot up from the block to push the lead to 35-23, but GHCA’s Riopel hit a 3-pointer and Korhonen ran the length of the floor for a lay up before Riopel nailed another 3-pointer at the 2:07 mark to draw the Lady Eagles to within four points, 35-31. After Washburn’s McDougal hit a shot, GHCA’s Amanda Livezey dropped a last-second shot through, as the Lady Eagles outgunned Washburn, 24-8 to cut the lead to 37-35.
“It was a tribute to our kids that they took a deep breath and stemmed [the comeback] a little bit, so the fourth quarter wasn’t as one-sided for [GHCA],” Ericson said. “You know they had to give a big effort in order to get back into it. They just came right as us and put Rachel into foul trouble and made their foul shots.”
The Lady Beavers wrap up their season at 14-8 and look to return a good nucleus next year with only three players graduating: Reed, Paige Huston and Sara Davis.
