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AUGUSTA — The Cony girls basketball team didn’t have the cleanest start to its Class A North playoff run but the Rams are still alive.

Thanks to strong efforts from freshman Kya Douin and senior Morgan Fichthorn — who scored her 1,00th career point — the No. 2 Rams beat N0. 7 Skowhegan, 49-46, in a Class A North quarterfinal on Friday night at the Augusta Civic Center.

Douin finished with 16 points, while Fichthorn had 22 points and eight rebounds.

“We just knew we had to keep our heads in the game (in the fourth quarter),” Fichthorn said. “Keep the energy up and intensity up and keep our defense. We let up more shots than we wanted but just play smart to the end and never give up.”

The Rams will face No. 3 Hampden (14-5) in the semifinal round at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Junior forward Natalie Cooke scored 16 points for the River Hawks, who finished 7-12. Senior forward Allie Frey added 13 points.

How did they get there?

• Cony: Three-pointers, and plenty of them. Cony hit five 3-pointers in the first half and finished with nine. Fichthorn hit three 3-pointers in the first half, and another three in the second half.
• “I felt like my shots were on,” Fichthorn said. “In warmups, it didn’t feel on, then as the game got going and they started going in, I said, ‘This is going to be a good night.'”

• Douin was a force for Cony on the boards and managed to do some work in the post while also nailing two 3-pointers.
• Skowhegan: The River Hawks went into a new gear in the second half, outscoring the Rams 19-10 in the third quarter. Cooke was a force in the post for Skowhegan throughout the game, but Frey scored nine of her 13 points in the half, all on 3-pointers, while guard Lauren Moore added seven of her nine points in the half.
• “I just wanted them to compete, and I felt we competed pretty well,” Skowhegan coach Mike LeBlanc said. “I was happy (with the effort), obviously I’m not happy with the score. But, from a standpoint of where we were at the beginning of the year and how we finished today, I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
• “Skowhegan is very well coached, (LeBlanc) does a phenomenal job,” Cony coach John Dennett said. “I told the girls at halftime, and near the end of the game, ‘Once the tournament starts, wipe out the seeds, wipe out the records. Anything can happen. They came out and played their best, we were fortunate to come out with a win.”

Road to 1,000

• Fichthorn scored her 1,000th point on a free throw with less than a minute left in the game.
• “There’s been a lot of hard work put in (to my game) over the years,” Fichthorn said. “To have it (happen) in Augusta, close to home just means a lot. It was kind of stressful, but after every shot I had a countdown. My manager helped me keep track of my points, so I didn’t have to think too much about it.”
• Dennett added: “Morgan Fichthorn is incredible. Not only is she an incredible person, she’s an incredible basketball player. In the 18 years I’ve been coaching, I’ve never seen anyone do everything she does. She has a knack for rebounding… she shoots the ball; she dives on the ball. There’s nobody like her; she’s a special player.”

Clean sweep

• With the win, Cony is 2-0 this season against its Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference foe. The Rams picked up a road win over Skowhegan, a 55-39 decision, on Dec. 19.

Statistical leaders

• Cony: Morgan Fichthorn (22 points, eight rebounds), Kya Douin (16 points)
• Skowhegan: Natalie Cooke (16 points, nine rebounds), Allie Frey (13 points)