AUGUSTA — Could any girls’ basketball team in Maine have beaten Hampden Academy the way the Broncos were playing defense and shooting on Tuesday night?
Maybe, but it would have taken a sublime effort, and Messalonskee just couldn’t keep pace.
Additional Photos
The Broncos hit eight 3-pointers and scored 40 points in the second half alone, pulling away from Messalonskee for a 62-40 victory in the Eastern Class A final at the Augusta Civic Center.
“We always have a really good second half,” said Hampden guard Katelyn DeRaps, who scored 15 points. “We always seem to pull away in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.”
No. 3 Hampden (19-2) will face Western Maine champion McAuley in Saturday’s Class A state final. No. 8 Messalonskee, which went from barely making the playoffs to the regional final, finished at 11-10.
Messalonskee led 16-14 late in the first half, but the Eagles allowed DeRaps to penetrate three straight times for easy layups, and the Broncos took a 22-16 lead into the locker room.
Messalonskee Coach Brenda Beckwith called it the first turning point of the game, pointing out that allowing easy layups was something the Eagles had avoided in the tournament.
The second turning point, said Beckwith, came midway through the third quarter. Messalonskee quickly tied the score at 22 on 3-pointers by Abbey Stacey and Mary Badeen (team-high 11 points). But then the Broncos got hot, and although Messalonskee continued to play well offensively, Hampden’s shooting eventually wore down the Eagles.
Even though DeRaps wasn’t hitting in the third quarter, the Broncos had so many other weapons that they still scored 21 points. Julia Snyder (7 for 7 from the field for 17 points) had 10 points in the quarter, and sophomore Jordan Maxwell came off the bench to hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Michaela Stephenson, who didn’t score in the first half, also drained a 3-pointer.
“I thought we came out really well (in the third quarter),” Beckwith said, “and then when we packed our defense in, they skipped it over the top and hit those 3s, it was like lighting it up.”
“Everyone is a good shooter on our team,” DeRaps said. “Shooting’s pretty contagious with us. If one person makes a 3, I feel like everyone else starts hitting theirs.”
Megan Pelletier (10 points) hit a couple baskets for Messalonskee in the third quarter, and the Eagles were within 34-33 late in the quarter after a 3-pointer by Badeen. But Hampden scored 25 of the next 27 points, including a 16-0 run to start the fourth quarter. By the time Pelletier scored Messalonskee’s first points of the fourth quarter with 1:46 remaining, it just served to cut Hampden’s lead to 59-37.
By the end of the game, Messalonskee could not generate an offense. The Eagles’ strength is a free-form, fast-breaking style with Badeen running the show. Hampden Coach Chad Bradbury had the Broncos hounding Badeen and Pelletier, and the Eagles were forced into a half-court game with Badeen rarely touching the ball.
“Chad’s seen us enough to know that when Mary decides to go off, that it’s tough (to stop),” Beckwith said. “He did a great job. He just face-guarded her all over the court. And anytime Megan touched (the ball) within an eight-to-10-foot radius of the basket, she was double and triple teamed, and we just didn’t move the ball from that situation.”
Messalonskee graduates four players, including three starters, and the Eagles rode a roller coaster this winter. But after fading late in the regular season, Messalonskee defeated top-ranked Morse and No. 4 Cony to get within a game of the state finals.
“My kids,” Beckwith said, “I told them in the locker room: You’re going to look back at that No. 8 seed and say, ‘We were that team that did that. We were the first team that ever came in and knocked off the No. 1 seed and made it to the Eastern Maine final.’ I said, ‘You’re going to forget what the score of this game was, but you’re always going to remember the march to the Eastern Maine championship (game).’ “
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
mdifilippo@centralmaine.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Comments are no longer available on this story