AUGUSTA — It went according to script, at least as far as Hampden Academy was concerned.
The reigning regional champion Broncos smothered No. 7 Erskine with defense and received a dominant double-double performance from senior center Bailey Donovan, picking apart the Eagles en route to a 44-26 win for second-seeded Hampden in the Class A North girls basketball quarterfinals Friday.
The 6-foot-3 Donovan finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds as the Broncos (15-4) advanced to the regional semifinals Tuesday night, where they will face No. 3 Lawrence.
Erskine’s Emily Clark, left, can’t get a rebound from Hampde’s Bailey Donovan during a Class A North quarterfinal game Friday at the Augusta Civic Center. Kennebec Journal photo by Joe Phelan
“It feels really good,” Donovan said. “I think we played a lot better than we did last year in the quarterfinals. I think there’s some things we can work on, but it feels really good to be going to the next round.”
Erskine (10-9) scored in double digits in only one quarter — the first — and was out-rebounded, 27-17. The Eagles were especially outplayed on the offensive glass, where they were able to pull down just four boards and manufacture only two points on second-chance opportunities.
By contrast, Hampden finished with 12 offensive boards and turned those into 10 points, nearly a quarter of their output for the afternoon.
“That’s kind of the way we play. We’re very methodical,” Hampden coach Nick Winchester said. “You just keep beating that drum. You keep going, and you keep going and going.”
Donovan had nine offensive rebounds.
Donovan’s dominance rose in the third quarter, even after scoring 11 of the team’s 23 first-half points on the way to a 23-15 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, she scored the first nine of her team’s points. She finished with 14 in the second half, two-thirds of the team’s total scoring.
“We just had to stick together,” Donovan said. “It was a little frustrating in the first quarter, but I think we did a good job of sticking together and sticking through it.”
Winchester thought there was still more in there from his center.
“She’s very unselfish. I think she could have had 10 more (points) today,” Winchester said. “We missed her a couple of times, where I thought she had great position in the post and we went away from her. That’s unfortunate, because I think that’s where our offense is.”
Erskine got six points from both Mackenzie Roderick and Lydia Boucher, all on 3-point field goals. Boucher’s first trey with 4:08 left in the second quarter pulled Erskine to within 19-15, but Hampden scored 11 of the game’s next 13 points to build a 30-17 lead with 5:12 left in the third period.
The Eagles connected for just six field goals in the first half and only four more in the second. A total of 17 turnovers hurt the chances Erskine tried to create, as did a 32.3 percent efficiency from the floor.
“I thought we were really good defensively, especially in the half-court,” Winchester said. “We said pre-game that if we take pride in our defense and lock down on that end of the floor, it will make our offense a lot easier. I think we can always get 40-45 points a night. If we can hold teams to sub-40, it gives us a chance to win.”
Travis Barrett — 621-5621
Twitter: @TBarrettGWC
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