AUGUSTA — The Skowhegan girls basketball team needed another comeback, but it couldn’t get one this time around.
Kory Norcross and Ashlee Arnold each scored 12 points, and second-seeded Edward Little beat Skowhegan 54-34 in an Eastern A semifinal Wednesday afternoon at the Augusta Civic Center.
Additional Photos
Edward Little will play in the regional final 7:05 p.m. Friday at the Augusta Civic Center.
“We just couldn’t get into a rhythm,” Skowhegan senior guard Amanda Johnson, who missed her first 10 shots and finished with seven points. “It’s frustrating.”
Kate Sawyer scored 11 points, including nine in the second half, and Brooke Reynolds added 10 for Edward Little (17-3), which opened the second half with a 12-2 run to break open what was a close four-point game.
“We came out really motivated,” Arnold said. “We stepped it up. We’re just so excited. We’re so pumped to go to the final.”
AJ Martineau and Cheyenne Malloy each scored eight points to lead Skowhegan, which reached the semifinals after erasing a 17-point second half deficit to Mt. Blue in the quarterfinals.
The No. 6 Indians (12-8) led just twice in the game.
“We were still in the basketball game at the half,” Skowhegan coach Heath Cowan said. “Hats off to E.L. They were the better team today.”
Johnson just couldn’t get it going early, although the Eddies played a part in that.
Forced to take tough shots, Johnson missed her first 10 shots and was held scoreless in the first half.
“I was having a hard time with my shot,” she said. “We couldn’t get into any rhythm. But we had come back from 17 down before so we thought coming back from four would be easy to do.”
It wasn’t.
The Eddies took control of the game in the third quarter, thanks to Norcross and Reynolds, who each scored four points in the 12-2 run.
The Indians pulled within 37-27 early in the fourth quarter but again the Eddies answered to quell a rally.
Sawyer led the charge in the fourth, scoring five points, including a three-point play on a steal and layup.
“It was frustrating because you felt kind of helpless,” said Johnson, who scored her first points of the game with 2:54 left in the third quarter and the Indians trailing 31-17. “You felt you couldn’t do anything.”
Added Cowan: “She was trying to get it done to help her team. You can’t fault her.”
The Indians struggled early in the first half but still managed to prevent the Red Eddies from pulling away.
Edward Little led by as many as 10 late in the second quarter — 19-9 — but Skowhegan rallied with Johnson on the bench.
Malloy hit a quick jump shot and then buried a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:30 left in the quarter to pull the Indians within 19-14. Skowhegan then forced another turnover, and Natasha Thompson made a free throw after she was fouled while grabbing an offensive rebound.
“Our goal was to stop Amanda Johnson, and we did that,” Arnold said. “We were a little nervous at the half but then we just got relaxed. We came out pumped up.”
Bill Stewart — 621-5640
bstewart@centralmaine.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.