AUGUSTA — Two of its best players experiencing foul trouble didn’t faze the Madison girls basketball team.

In fact, the Bulldogs got stronger — and with it, turned what could have been a troubling situation into an even more convincing performance, defeating Monmouth Academy 47-26 in a Class C South quarterfinal showdown Tuesday night.

“Our girls stepped up so much,” said Madison’s Raegan Cowan, who led all scorers with 16 points while sitting much of the first half after picking up three fouls. “We go really hard in practice, so we’re always going against each other and really pushing each other, and it showed.”

Mackenzie Robbins, who also picked up three fouls in the first half, added eight points and four rebounds for Madison, which also got six points and seven boards from Elizabeth Kelley. The Bulldogs advance to face either North Yarmouth Academy or Carrabec in Thursday’s semifinals.

Robbins got fourth-ranked Madison (16-3) off to a good start with four points in the first 2:08 as the Bulldogs took a 5-0 lead. With Madison leading 7-4 with three minutes left in the first quarter, Cowan scored the final five points of the period to put her team up eight entering the second.

Monmouth ‘s Maeve Burgess (4) has her shot blocked by Madison’s Savannah Lorenz during a Class C South quarterfinal girls basketball game Tuesday at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Robbins would miss much of the end of that first quarter and much of the second after picking up her second foul early in the game. Yet Cowan kept Madison going, scoring nine points in the quarter before picking up her third foul in the final minute as the Bulldogs took a 26-12 lead to the locker room.

“I broke my nose earlier in the year, and this is my second game (playing with the mask) off, but I got hit a couple plays in and had to put it back on,” Cowan said. “It actually helps a little bit; it makes me feel like I can dive on the floor a little more than I could before. … Being small, it’s hard to drive to the rim, but I have confidence.”

Madison began the second half with its two top players on the bench after Robbins also picked up her third foul late in the first. Still, the Bulldogs stopped 12th-ranked Monmouth (9-11) from taking advantage, holding the Mustangs without a basket in the period until just 23 seconds remained to lead 40-18 entering the final period.

Even when Cowan fouled out and Madison’s reserves replaced the starters, the Bulldogs made it difficult for Monmouth to score. That was partly the product of a strong rebounding effort by Madison, which brought down 42. Ten different players brought down multiple boards for the Bulldogs.

“We talk about all the time how all five girls need to be on the glass for us because we’re not all that big,” said Madison head coach Adam Rich. “Jacey Moody leads the way for us in that, and we also got Ava Landry involved, but our guards also did a great job of boxing out and getting to the ball.”

Madison’s defense was also active in the passing lanes, forcing Monmouth into 25 turnovers, nine of which came in the first quarter. Kaitlyn Frost recorded 12 points and six rebounds for the Mustangs, but the Bulldogs limited their top scoring threat, Reese Beaudoin, to just two points.

“When she got in her groove to try and go to the middle, we kind of stepped out and stopped that, so that kind of slowed her down a little bit,” Rich said. “I thought we anticipated well; we worked on a lot of ball rotations and meeting the ball there rather than waiting.”

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