Girls basketball: Hall-Dale shows some similarities to its 2022 Class C title team

After cutting down and swinging the net, Hall-Dale’s KJ Greenhalgh pulls down the last pieces of string after the Bulldogs defeated Madison in the Class C South girls basketball championship game on Feb 24 at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

FARMINGDALE — At practice at the Penny Gym on Tuesday night, the Hall-Dale girls basketball team was focused, but loose. The team ran 5-on-5 drills with familiar music — such as “Hey Ya!” by Outkast — blaring through a speaker in the empty gym.

The Bulldogs (20-1) are preparing for the biggest game of their season — the Class C final on Saturday night (7:05 p.m.) against C North champion Dexter (20-1) at the Augusta Civic Center. Hall-Dale is chasing its second state title in three seasons — it won the Class C crown in 2022.

Holdovers from that 2022 team say they see a lot similarities in that group to the current one, with the biggest connecting attribute being poise.

The 2022 Bulldogs didn’t show a lot of nerves, and this year’s team is also relaxed.

“We’re just ready,” said senior guard Hayden Madore, who also played on the 2022 team. “At the end of the day, we all know what’s coming. If (Dexter) changes anything (on the floor), I think our coaching staff behind us will change it right away. I think if we just play our game, which I’ve kind of said all year, we’ll be fine.”

“I think (being loose) is what’s important,” added senior center KJ Greenhalgh. “Just trusting ourselves, in the sense that we’re preparing and we’re putting in the work. We always do, and we have all season. I think that’s what it’s coming down to. We’ve done the work. We’ve watched film, we’ve studied. We’ve done the little things in our games and what needs to be modified.”

The ease in which the Bulldogs approach this week is a welcome sight for Hall-Dale head coach Laurie Rowe.

“They’re a hard group to sometimes keep loose,” Rowe laughed. “It is nice to see.”

There are strong similarities on the hardwood between that 2022 title team and the current version of the Bulldogs. Both teams displayed a gritty style on both ends of the floor. Both were quick in transition and parlayed their strong defensive play into success on the offensive end of the floor.

KK Wills, Iris Ireland and Averi Baker, along with Madore and Amanda Trepanier, played big minutes on the 2022 team. This season, it’s Madore who distributes the ball from the guard position, with Greenhalgh providing a strong post presence. Juniors Jade Graham, Lucy Gray and Torie Tibbetts all have played big roles this winter as well.

The strength of the Bulldogs defense was on display during the regional tournament. Hall-Dale forced 35 turnovers out of Richmond in a 48-23 victory in the semifinal round, then forced 22 turnovers out of Madison in a 49-36 victory last Saturday in the regional final. It’s similar to the play of the 2022 Bulldogs, who forced 20 turnovers out of Stearns in a 57-42 win in the Class C title game.

“Our speed, our defense (are similar),” Madore said. “That never really changed. We just want to play fast. That’s kind of the similarity with ’22 and now. We just play way more fast now than we did last year.”

“I think Hall-Dale has a lot of grit, that’s something that is very unique to our team,” Greenhalgh added. “Being a small class C team, something that has been consistent throughout the years is that not a lot of people have had a lot of faith in us. Just like back in ’22, we really had to put in the work and dig our heels in and go against what everyone else was saying… I think that grit and that resilience is still here on this team.”

Hall-Dale’s Hayden Madore holds up the Class C South girls basketball championship plaque on Feb. 24 at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The differences lie on the sidelines. Hall-Dale has key contributors this season who were not members of the 2022 team. The team also has a different coach; in 2022, it was O.J. Jaramillo led the Bulldogs to states. This season — in her first running the program — Rowe has led the Bulldogs.

“The biggest difference was that (2022) senior group: KK, Iris and Averi,” Madore said. “They were the leaders on that team and I lived in their shadow being the fifth starter. KK was the biggest difference. Yeah, I could be that senior leader, but she was just amazing.

“This core group has been playing together for so long. Yeah, there are leaders, but at the end of the day, we are all together. We’re all kind of leading this team together. Especially with a new coaching staff, it helps a ton, because we’re all just really comfortable with each other.”

Despite the changeover, there’s still plenty of big-game experience on the floor, particularly from Greenhalgh and Madore. And it’s that experience the team will lean on come Saturday against the Tigers, who are looking to defend their state title.

“(The experience) is awesome,” Rowe said. “Hayden has been a starter for four years with this program, so she has a lot of experience. A lot of these girls do. It’s huge having those girls, who are comfortable playing out there, to try to get the flow of the game to what we want.”

“Our support system is even stronger than it has been before,” Greenhalgh added. “Going out there and having girls that have gone through (big games), who have come back from tough games that have dug their heels in before, it makes it so much easier to back up the girls who are going through it for the first time. We’re preparing them to hopefully do it when they’re upperclassmen in the coming years. It’s really exciting.”