BANGOR — Defensively, everything went according to plan for the Maine Central Institute girls basketball team in Saturday’s Class B North quarterfinal against top seed Mt. Desert Island. When it came to offense, though, that’s where things unraveled for the Huskies.
Down just a point to the Trojans at the half, MCI was held to seven points in the second half, and MDI pulled away for a 42-27 win. No. 1 MDI (17-2) will face No. 5 Winslow in the semifinals Wednesday at 8:35 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center. No. 9 MCI ends the season at 10-10.
“I think we had them. The only thing we needed, we just needed to make a few more 3’s, a few more shots, and we just went cold,” MCI coach Jordan Larlee said. “Holding that team to 42 points is exactly what we wanted to happen. We just couldn’t execute on offense.”
MCI’s Madison Boutwell, left, dribbles past MDI defender Hannah Chamberlain during a Class B North quarterfinal game Saturday in Bangor. Photo by Jennifer Bechard
Ahead 21-20 at the break, the Trojans scored the first nine points of the third quarter to give themselves some breathing room. Defensively, MDI knew it had to pay more attention to MCI guard Sydney Farrar, who scored 13 of her team’s 20 first half points. Farrar was held to four points in the second half to finish with 17.
“We knew we had to step up on (Farrar). We came out with a better defensive intensity in the second half, which is definitely what we needed,” MDI senior Julia Watras said.
The Trojans effectively put the game out of reach when Alexis Clarito hit a buzzer-beating desperation 3-pointer as the third quarter ended, giving MDI a 33-22 lead. The Huskies got no closer than seven points in the fourth.
Hannah Chamberlain (12 points), Watras (11 points), and Maddy Candage (eight points) accounted for 74 percent of MDI’s offense. The top seed in the tournament, Watras said the Trojans never took a win over MCI for granted.
“You kind of throw your records out the window when you come to the tournament, because anything can happen,” Watras said.
Next up for the Trojans is Winslow, the team which eliminated MDI from the tournament last season.
“We’re pretty excited to play them,” Watras said. “It’s kind of like a revenge game.”
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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