PORTLAND — The one constant in McAuley’s season thus far has been defense. Harassing, physical man-to-man defense.

And Monday afternoon it was on full display in the Western Class A girls’ basketball quarterfinals.

The second-ranked Lions held South Portland scoreless for nearly eight minutes and pulled away for a 52-27 victory at the Portland Expo.

With her future coach, Cindy Blodgett of the University of Maine, looking on, senior forward Rebecca Knight scored 24 points – all in the first three quarters. It was a typical big-game performance by Knight, who also produced eight rebounds and had in hand in many of the 21 turnovers forced by the Lions.

“Anyone who has seen us knows that all year long our defense has led us through, has led us all the way,’’ said first-year McAuley Coach Amy Vachon. “Our defense is solid and … it keeps us in games.’’

McAuley (17-2) will play No. 3 Gorham (15-4) in the regional semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Gorham beat the Lions 37-27 on Feb. 5.

South Portland, with Danica Gleason hitting two early 3-pointers, led 7-4 with 4:28 left in the first quarter. The Riots did not score again until Bri Maloney made two foul shots with4:40 left in the second quarter.

During that stretch, the Riots missed eight shots and turned the ball over six times.

“That was the longest seven minutes and 48 seconds of our season,’’ said South Portland Coach Mike Giordano. “Give all the credit to them. They are very good defensively.

“You can’t go that many minutes without scoring and expect to play with a team that has that much talent.’’

The Lions harassed South Portland’s shooters and ballhandlers on the perimeter – forcing them to either give up their dribble too soon or force an ill-advised pass – and quickly collapsed on the inside, with star defensive center Alexa Coulombe waiting in the middle.

“It’s one of those things where, our team just loves to play defense,’’ said Vachon. “We really do. And when we don’t play defense is when we don’t talk to each other and we struggle. They just love defense and I like that about this team.’’

During McAuley’s surge, Knight had eight points and assisted on another basket. The Lions got their offense moving quickly off the turnovers, with freshman Allie Clement assisting on two fast-break layups.

Coulombe credited McAuley’s defensive prowess to maturity. Early in the year, the Lions might have struggled when they fell behind early.

“We’ve really grown as a team,’’ said Coulombe. “When we talk like we did out there, it sets the tone for our defense.’’

And Knight really means a lot to this team. In addition to leading the Lions in scoring, she does a lot of dirty work inside on the boards and on defense.

“I can’t put my finger on why some people don’t think she’s as good as she is,’’ said Vachon. “But she is.’’

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:
mlowe@pressherald.com