AUGUSTA — The regional quarterfinals are now officially done at the Augusta Civic Center, and the way they concluded did not disappoint.

The action was largely competitive throughout Tuesday as Class C South girls teams took the floor. Here are five takeaways.

Winthrop makes remarkable comeback

A 16-point halftime deficit is tough no matter the circumstances. Take a young team in a major offensive slump, and that difficulty grows.

Nevertheless, Winthrop didn’t give in after scoring just five points in the final 15 minutes of the first half against Oak Hill. The Ramblers rallied in the second half, turning a 26-10 deficit into a 41-39 win.

“It’s surreal,” said Bella Baehr, who led the Ramblers with 11 points. “We were frustrated in the first half — we weren’t getting a lot of the calls we wanted — but we pushed through, and we played our game. I’m so proud of us.”

An 18-point third quarter got No. 5 Winthrop within 32-28. The Ramblers (10-9) then took the lead at 40-38 on a Cyara Harriman 3-pointer with 2:10 left. Oak Hill had a chance to tie or pull ahead in the final seconds but was called for traveling with 0.5 seconds left.

Winthrop’s halftime message? Well, it had little to do with Xs and Os. Instead, coach John Baehr simply reminded the Ramblers that they had overcome this kind of deficit before.

“We went down to OOB early in the year, and we were down 16 — same as tonight — and came back,” Baehr said. “I just told them to trust each other and trust themselves, and they did.”

Wells adjusts, then takes control

Going into the day’s first quarterfinal, the biggest concern Wells had about Winslow was 3-point shooting. A pair of Emma Fales 3-pointers that kept the Black Raiders close early showed why.

Once Wells adjusted, though, the third-seeded Warriors (17-2) found smooth sailing. Winslow scored just five baskets the rest of the way as Wells pulled away for its 13th consecutive victory, 46-24.

“We knew they were a good shooting team, so at the quarter, we said, ‘They’re hitting; we’ve got to protect the 3-point line better,’” said Wells coach Sandi Purcell. “We focused on shutting (Fales) down and forcing somebody else to beat us, and we did a good job of that.”

A second quarter in which Wells outscored Winslow 15-4 was the product of those defensive adjustments and the Warriors flowing offensively. Purcell and senior Megyn Mertens attributed the offensive success to playing in Augusta rather than the Portland Expo, where Wells used to play postseason games as a Class B school.

“At the Expo, we tend to shoot ourselves to death because we don’t know which lines to shoot from,” said Mertens, alluding to the NBA-range 3-point line. “Here, we can run our offense from the 3-point line, and that really helps us.”

For Winslow, a building block

After a glorious run from 2015-20 that included a 2018 state title, the post-COVID era at Winslow has seen some hard times. Yet after the Black Raiders had gone 7-73 since 2020-21 entering this season, finishing with a 10-9 record is a major step.

It could be the start of something better for Winslow. Of those who played significant minutes for the sixth-seeded Black Raiders on Tuesday, only one, Amara Rioux, was a senior. With everyone else expected back, Winslow coach Trevon Butler hopes his team can make a deeper run.

“We’ve preached commitment and consistency, and the girls have shown that,” Butler said. “We’re going to remember this moment and losing on this floor, and we’re going to work hard to be back.”

Maranacook showcases experience with key plays

Although Maranacook dominated the second quarter and much of the third against Dirigo, the underdog Cougars surged late. The Black Bears, though, responded every time they were threatened.

When the Cougars got within 44-38 with 6:30 left, Maranacook’s Celia Bergdahl hit a clutch 3-pointer. After two Dirigo free throws, Gracie Farrell made another 3. Then, the third-seeded Black Bears (16-3) got multiple steals and a three-point play from Cooper Davis en route to a 55-43 win.

“These girls are relentless,” said Maranacook coach Karen Magnusson. “Whenever something goes against us, that’s when you’ll find that someone steps up and makes a play for us. It’s a mentality of, ‘I need to make something happen.’”

That comes from a group with championship mettle across multiple sports. Many of Maranacook’s players also competed on the school’s state title-winning soccer and lacrosse teams in 2025, and that experience, Bergdahl said, translates to basketball.

“We know what it’s like to play in those big games, and knowing what it takes is big for us,” Bergdahl said. “We know what that excitement and that atmosphere is like, and we get up for the big competition.”

Spruce Mountain pulls away methodically

It’s hard to pinpoint one exact moment where Spruce Mountain pulled away from Mount View — and yet, the Phoenix did pull away, as evidenced by the 58-29 final score.

Top-seeded Spruce Mountain (18-1) led the Mustangs by seven after one quarter, by 13 at halftime and by 22 after three quarters. It’s the kind of progression over the course of a game that Phoenix coach Zach Keene wants to see as his team chases the first Gold Ball in program history.

“We put a lot of talk into going possession by possession,” Keene said. “When you can stack possessions over and over again, that’s how those leads are going to happen. I think that consistency is what you saw from us tonight.”