Cony’s Kya Douin attempts to drive past Lawrence’s Maddie Provost during Tuesday's game in Augusta. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

AUGUSTA — It was a great night for central Maine girls basketball.

Two of its two top teams gave a near-capacity crowd its money’s worth and more. Two of its stars dazzled from the opening tip to the final buzzer. Tuesday night’s game between Cony and Lawrence was everything you dream of in February with tournament time fast approaching.

Lawrence defeated Cony 74-73 in a down-to-the-wire Class A North showdown at Cony High School. Abby Morrill scored 26 points — including the 1,000th of her career — for the Rams, while Maddie Provost scored 38 to keep the Bulldogs undefeated.

“I think that was one of the best shooting games I’ve seen in a long time,” said Lawrence coach Greg Chesley. “We led off with four straight 3s to start the game, they hit us right back, and we just kept going from there. It was just a battle.”

How it happened

• Lawrence (17-0), as Chesley said, provided an early haymaker, hitting four 3-pointers in the first two minutes to take a 12-5 lead. Yet Cony hit back with Morrill scoring eight points in the opening quarter as the Rams took a 22-20 lead into the second.

• Provost scored 15 points (including three 3-pointers) in the third quarter to put the Bulldogs up nine after they had trailed 40-36 at the break.

• After reaching the 1,000-point mark in the first half, Morrill scored 15 points for Cony (14-3) in the fourth quarter to help turn 11-point deficit with just over two minutes to go into a one-point game before the Bulldogs ultimately prevailed.

• Just as it did in their first meeting, a 70-36 win Jan. 28, Lawrence beat Cony on the boards, 42-27.

What it means

• After losing 70-36 to Lawrence last week in a game that was never close, Cony showed it could hang with the Bulldogs as it forced turnovers, played aggressive defense early and generated open shots.

• Lawrence, whose closest game entering Tuesday had been a 62-53 win over Oxford Hills on Dec. 21, moved within one game of completing an undefeated regular season.

• Morrill’s 1,000th point, which came on a banked-in 3-pointer in the second quarter, made her the ninth player in Cony history to reach the milestone.

“It was a little bit of an awkward shot, but that’s OK,” said Morrill, who did all of it while playing through an illness. “There were 997 other points I scored (to look back on).”

Members of the Cony team celebrate with Abby Morrill after Morrill scored her 1,000th career point during Tuesday’s game against Lawrence in Augusta. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

They said it

“There was a lot of stress around (scoring 1,000 points), but my coach (John Dennett) and my teammates helped me to get there. I haven’t been feeling great, but they gave me that boost to push through.” — Abby Morrill

“Maddie really set the tone there with how she came out in the second half, but another key, I think, was really our defense. We gave up 40 points in the first half, and in the third quarter, they scored six. That was huge; the adjustments we made at halftime really made a difference.” — Greg Chesley

“It was just a matter of taking open shots; my teammates believe in me, they see me, and they hit me up. It’s just a good feeling. … It was a great environment, especially away.” — Maddie Provost

Stat leaders

• Lawrence: Maddie Provost (38 points), Nadia Morrison (11 points, 12 rebounds), Ashley Shores (11 points, six rebounds), Lilly Gray (12 rebounds).

• Cony: Abby Morrill (26 points), Morgan Fichthorn (17 points), Kya Douin (11 points, seven rebounds).

Next up

• Lawrence: at Messalonskee (3-14), 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

• Cony: vs. Gardiner (9-8), 6:30 p.m. Friday.