By STEVE CRAIG 

Special to the Press Herald

PORTLAND — Windham knew it needed to find a way to at least slow down Mia Rapolla in Monday’s Western Class A girls’ basketball quarterfinal at the Portland Expo.

The Gorham High senior scoring sensation would have none of it.

Rapolla buried her first five shots – including a pair of 3-pointers – to get the third-seeded Rams on the fast track to a 54-33 win and a berth in Friday’s semifinals.

Rapolla finished with 34 points.

Gorham (15-4) will face No. 2 McAuley at the Cumberland County Civic Center. It will be the first trip to the semifinals for Gorham’s seniors. Windham, the sixth seed, finished with an 11-8 record.

While Rapolla made six 3-pointers, her first three baskets came from within eight feet and resulted in a quick 7-0 lead for Gorham.

“I just think that once someone gets going we all follow,” Rapolla said when asked why she looked to get her own offense started so quickly. “It just gets our tempo going once someone starts finishing. I thought we should come out quick right away instead of having to come back in the fourth quarter like we did the last time we played them.”

Gorham won both regular season games against Windham, with Rapolla scoring a total of 53 points.

“We spent an entire week focusing in on their team,” Windham Coach Jessie Cummings said. “We knew exactly what Mia wanted to do and unfortunately we just didn’t have the defense on her we had hoped for. … It’s hard to stop someone who’s that good.”

The Eagles did do a better job in the second quarter and cut the lead to 21-16 on Stephanie Frost’s 3-pointer. That was as close Windham could get, in large part because Frost’s basket was one of only three from the Windham starters other than Meghan Gribbin (19 points, four 3-pointers).

“We knew in order to be effective in this game our 3-point shots needed to fall,” Cummings said.

In case anyone doubted Rapolla’s ability, she knocked down three straight 3s in the first two minutes of the third quarter, then posted up 6-foot Olivia Hurd, spun to the baseline and dropped in a feathery fallaway for a 41-26 lead.

Windham didn’t get closer than 14 points the rest of the game. By the end of three quarters, Gorham was ahead 46-30 and Rapolla had 30 points.

Rapolla scored 27 points in the first and third quarters on 9-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 6 behind the arc.

“It’s always important for us that she gets going quickly,” said Gorham Coach Laughn Berthiaume. “She’s a big-game player and she’s just looking to be aggressive. She does look pretty smooth, doesn’t she?”

Gribbin answered Rapolla’s baskets on several occasions, playing with poise and tenacity, but she was harassed by several Rams, including Rapolla, four-year starter Natalie Egbert and freshman Jessica Rexrode.

“I do have a number of different guards and we just tried to switch it up on her so she didn’t get too comfortable,” Berthiaume said. “She’s their main threat. We know that. She was the one we had to focus on and I thought our girls did a good job on that.”

Gorham was one of only two teams to beat McAuley this season.

“It’s going to be a battle at the Civic Center,” Rapolla said. “Last year we lost in the quarterfinals, to McAuley. This is the first time Gorham’s made it to the Civic Center in a long time. The first time for me. I’m excited. We’re all excited.”