AUGUSTA — Shot after shot went up, and shot after shot went in.
With its championship hopes hanging in the balance, the Lawrence girls basketball team came through with its best quarter of the season.
Hope Bouchard scored 24 points while making plays on both ends of the court, Emily Hagerty hit clutch shot after clutch shot en route to 19, and the third-seeded Bulldogs, spurred on by a blistering second quarter, toppled No. 2 Gardiner 56-45 in the Class A North semifinals at the Augusta Civic Center.
It’s been a season of challenges for Lawrence (17-3), the biggest being a December car accident that sidelined starting guard and key contributor MaKenzie Nadeau for the season. And those challenges were on the Bulldogs’ mind, even after their biggest triumph of the winter.
“This is a huge game for us. We’ve gone through a lot this season,” said Hagerty, who along with Bouchard scored 37 of Lawrence’s final 39 points. “Getting this win, it’s huge. It’s bigger than just the game.”
Challenges abounded as well for the Tigers (17-3), who endured a COVID shutdown at the start of January. On Wednesday, they ran into one they couldn’t overcome.
“When Bouchard and Hagerty are both knocking down shots, and they have two or three kids scoring, they’re really hard to guard because you can’t cheat anywhere,” said Gardiner coach Mike Gray, whose team was led by 19 points and 16 rebounds from Lizzy Gruber. “(But) we kept fighting. We cut into it in the third, we cut it to six and had a few possessions where we could have cut it to four, and we couldn’t quite get over the hump.”
The Lawrence bench cheers on teammates against Gardiner during a Class A North girls basketball semifinal game Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
The game started auspiciously for Gardiner, which took an 11-5 lead early in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs caught fire. They made their first seven shots of the second quarter, with Bouchard, Hagerty and Ali Higgins (six points) scoring five points apiece to put Lawrence up 22-11. The streak finally ended with a miss, but Hagerty hit a 3-pointer on the next series and followed that with a fast-break layup to put the Bulldogs on a 22-2 run and push the lead to 27-13.
“They just went on that run, and they didn’t miss,” Gray said. “It felt like they had seven, eight possessions in a row where they just didn’t miss.”
The quarter ended with a pair of crafty finishes by Bouchard, capping an 11-of-14 shooting performance from the field for the quarter and putting Lawrence ahead 31-16.
“When we get good movement and shots like that, we definitely want to keep shooting and keep that same intensity,” said Bouchard, who also finished with eight rebounds. “Just use it to help us on defense and help us on offense.”
Lawrence’s Ali Higgins looks to pass around the Gardiner defense during a Class A North girls basketball semifinal game Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Coach Greg Chesley, however, knew the Bulldogs had work left. Lawrence held a 17-point lead over Gardiner in the first half of the Central Maine Tournament final last season before losing, and that game was on the coach’s mind.
“Halftime (that year) we were up 15, today we were up 15,” he said. “So I went in at halftime and said ‘Girls, good news. We played a great half. The bad news, we’re up 15. Think back to a year ago. That’s not enough.'”
As if aware of the symmetry themselves, the Tigers came out resurgent in the second half. Gruber scored 11 points in the third to help narrow the gap to 43-31, and when Megan Gallagher hit a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 43-37 with 6:34 left in the game, there was a feeling that the comeback was in motion.
“It’s not easy to come back from digging a hole for yourself or them digging a hole for you,” Gruber said. “But I think we did a good job of still executing, and still keeping our heads up and playing as a team.”
Chesley knew his team needed an answer.
“When it was six, I was thinking ‘We just need to hit a shot,'” he said.
Lawrence junior guard Hope Bouchard tries to dribble past Gardiner senior guard Piper LaVoie during a Class A North girls basketball semifinal game Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
His team knew where to go. Bouchard hit a floater and then a free throw to push the lead to nine, and when McKenna Johnson (11 points) knocked down a three with four minutes left to again cut the deficit to six, Hagerty responded by burying her fourth three of the game with 3:47 left.
“I feel motivated,” Hagerty said. “I wanted to win that game really badly. I think we all did.”
Gardiner never got within seven points again. Bouchard made sure of it, scoring six more points down the stretch to slam the door.
“I’ve said all along, Hope is up there with anybody,” Chesley said. “I do have the privilege of coaching her and maybe I’m a little biased, but if I’m picking a team, I’m taking Hope every time.”
The loss ended a promising season for Gardiner, but with four of five starters Wednesday, including Gruber, due back, the Tigers know they’ll be in position to return next season.
“We have a lot of girls that are willing to work and get better,” Gruber said. “It’s only strength from here on out.”
“We just couldn’t quite get it done today,” Gray added. “There’s no shame in that, with the effort that these girls put out there.”
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