AUGUSTA — It took a quarter for the Madison girls basketball team to get moving in its Class C South semifinal on Thursday afternoon. Once the Bulldogs got rolling, nothing slowed them down.
No. 3 Madison went on a 17-0 run between the second and third quarters and rolled to a 53-30 win over No. 10 Dirigo at the Augusta Civic Center. The Bulldogs (15-5) are in the regional final for the second straight season and will face top-seeded Hall-Dale at 6 p.m. Saturday in Augusta.
Madison lost to Hall-Dale, 49-36, in the regional final last season.
Mackenzie Robbins scored 16 points and Raegan Cowan added 11 for Madison.
“We’re super happy,” said Robbins, a senior guard. “We started off kind of slow, so it was good to pull that off in the end.”
“They’re pretty excited,” Madison coach Adam Rich said. “The goal was to get back where we were (last year) and get to that next level. I think that excitement got to us at the beginning of the game, and then we toned it down and started playing the way we’re capable of.”
Guard Abigail Luczynski scored 12 points and forward Aleiah Ward added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars (12-9).
How did they get there?
• Perseverance. Madison struggled offensively in the first quarter and trailed 10-0.
“I was like, ‘Ladies, you’ve got to calm down,'” Rich said. “I think they were so worried about contact going to the rim that they just weren’t concentrating like they normally do. Once they put emotions aside and just played the game, they were fine.”
From there, the Bulldogs began their 17-0 run and outscored the Cougars by a 33-5 margin in the second and third quarters. Robbins scored 10 of her 16 during that stretch, while Cowan added six points.
“It was definitely good to just see the ball go in the hoop,” Cowan said. “Once it did, I think the nerves went away and we just played our game like we were supposed to from the beginning.”
• Defense. Madison forced 35 turnovers, 20 in the first half, and 15 in the second.
• Jacey Moody. Dirigo outrebounded Madison throughout the game, with four players picking up five rebounds or more. But Moody fought through the contact in the post, coming away with eight points and seven rebounds, while also fighting for loose balls.
“Our rebounding has been really key (to success) recently,” Robbins said.
Added Rich: “(Moody) did a great job on the boards, she was the one digging in and getting those loose ones for us. Emma Anton did well on the back side (of the game) for us. Then Ava Landry came in and did her part, setting the tone and boxing out. If we can do that, moving forward, and not allow extra possessions, I think we’ll be alright.”
Statistical leaders
Madison: Mackenzie Robbins (16 points), Raegan Cowan (11 points), Jacey Moody (8 points, 7 rebounds)
Dirigo: Abigail Luczynski (12 points), Aleiah Ward (10 points, 8 rebounds)
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your CentralMaine.com account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.