AUGUSTA — Mackenzie Robbins saved the best for first.
Robbins, a junior, scored 12 of her game-high 26 points in the first quarter as the Bulldogs easily handled defending Class C state champion Old Orchard Beach 60-33 on Wednesday in the opener of the Capital City Hoop Classic at the Augusta Civic Center.
Raegan Cowan, who spent much of the first half on the bench with foul trouble, scored 14 points for Madison (4-0), all in the second half.
Robbins drained five 3-pointers, including back-to-back baskets in the first quarter that gave the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead with 2 minutes left in the first quarter. OOB, frustrated by Madison’s in-your-face defense for much of the period, finally hit the scoreboard when Tessa Ferguson converted Sarah Davis’ rebound and long pass into a basket with 1:14 left in the period.
“We like to play at a high pace, so I thought the girls did very well in the press,” Madison coach Adam Rich said. “We turned them over early and we got the early baskets real quick, so it pushed the early lead. … If she (Robbins) catches in rhythm, she’s a good shooter.”
But as Robbins pointed out herself, the Bulldogs are not a one-player show.
“When you’re on, you’re on, and you just feed the hot player and today it was me,” Robbins said, “but sometimes it’s Ali (Griffeth, point guard) or Raegan or just whoever’s on, and that’s usually how we get our lead started.
“We’re definitely a fast team. We don’t have a lot of height, and we have a lot of new, inexperienced players, but they have a lot of potential. We’re used to having low numbers, so playing fast is usually how we do it.”
Jacey Moody pulled down 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs, eight in the first half.
Robbins was held scoreless in the second, but Kylee Furbush and Moody chipped in with four points apiece to give Madison a 24-8 halftime lead.
A pair of Ferguson 3-pointers brought OOB to within 35-22 with a minute left in the third quarter, but Cowan — back in the game after sitting with two first-period fouls and a third in the second — responded with back-to-back baskets, including a bucket off her own inbounds pass that she bounced off an OOB defender.
“They (OOB) played hard in that third quarter and kinda brought the game back,” Rich said. “We just settled in and got back into our game and pushed it ahead again.
“(Cowan) is a difference-maker for us. If she’s on the floor we’re a totally different team, a different dynamic for us. It takes a lot more pressure off of Ali and the offense for us at the top, so I think we’re a well-balanced team. With our pressing and our shooting, I think we’re going to be tough to beat.”
Ferguson scored 15 points for the Seagulls (3-2), 13 in the second half. Davis added 14 points and had a team-high 10 rebounds.
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