BANGOR — The Erskine girls basketball team is showing no signs of slowing down.
Next stop for the Eagles? The Class B North title game.
No. 2 Erskine (17-4) sank No. 6 John Bapst 46-38 in a regional semifinal Wednesday afternoon. Kelsie Dunn led Erskine with 17 points and six rebounds, both team-highs. Erskine will face top-seeded Caribou (19-1) for the B North crown at 6 p.m. Friday.
“To be able to play a close game and win, (to) let them know today that even when we were down it’s one possession at a time,” said Erskine coach Danielle Lefferts.
Lefferts added: “They don’t really know what kind of stage they’re playing on. It’s really awesome for them to just go out and have some fun with their friends and show that age does not matter and that talent will supersede every time.”
Defensive strength
• Erskine’s defensive intensity set the pace, even when the Eagles weren’t scoring. Down 12-6 at the end of the first quarter, Erskine implemented a 2-3 zone, which disrupted John Bapst’s fluid offense.
“We knew they were hitting outside shots, so we talked about how to close out real fast in that,” said Lefferts. “We were trying to just clog up the middle a little bit, give them a different look and try something new.”
• Rebounding was also a factor. Sophomore center Isabella Winchenbach occupied the middle of the zone for the Eagles, grabbing three rebounds. The Eagles out-rebounded the Crusaders, 16-9.
Pushing through
• The Eagles struggled scoring until the second half.
• Dunn, a sophomore guard, scored seven of Erskine’s 12 first-half points. With 10 seconds left in the first half she drove in for the layup, collecting the basket and the bonus free throw. Dunn had another layup toward the end of the half, as well as a 3-pointer.
• In the third quarter, Erskine freshman Kinsey Ulmer stole the ball at half court and drove for the layup to tie the game at 26 with four minutes left in the frame. Dunn drained a 3-pointer at the end of the third to put Erskine ahead, 32-31.
• Kienna Morse and Dunn fueled a 9-2 run to give Erskine a 41-33 lead with two minutes remaining in regulation.
Statistical leaders
• Erskine — Dunn (17 points), Morse (10 points) and
• John Bapst — Claire Gaetani (17 points)
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