PORTLAND – Georgia Ford wasn’t interested in letting nervous anticipation cloud her pregame routine.

So while some of her teammates fretted anxiously leading up to the opening tip, Ford focused on the moment.

“Actually I was really excited,” Ford said Wednesday night after scoring 17 points to lead seventh-seeded Cheverus to a 50-44 win over 10th-ranked Gorham in a Western Class A girls’ basketball prelim.

“Some of the girls were wicked nervous and spreading the nerves, but I was fine.”

The Stags (12-7) will face second-ranked Scarborough (17-1) in a quarterfinal at 3:30 p.m. Monday at the Portland Expo.

Despite participating in her first playoff game, Ford displayed a calm confidence early in a physical game. She had 10 points in the first quarter, including two of her four 3-pointers, to give the Stags a 15-11 lead.

“She had an unbelievable game,” said Cheverus Coach Richie Ashley. “She’s a gamer. She’s very slight but a tough kid. She knocked down big shots when we needed her to knock down shots.

“She’s not afraid of the situation or the moment. Those are the type of kids in the playoffs that you want to have. The kids that are willing to take the shot because not a lot are willing.”

Jessica Rexrode scored 22 points with eight in each of the first two quarters, including four 3-pointers, to keep Gorham (8-11) within 26-21 at the half.

Cheverus gained its largest lead late in the third quarter when Victoria Nappi connected on back-to-back 3-pointers for a 39-27 advantage. The Rams answered with the final three points of the period.

“I was pleased the way we played, especially when we got down 12 and then battled back to make it close at the end,” said Gorham Coach Laughn Berthiaume. “I thought the difference in the game was really our defensive backboards. I thought they had a few more possessions than us because of it, and it came down to a couple of possessions in the end.”

Ford’s final 3-pointer put the Stags ahead 47-37 with 3:23 left. But Cheverus missed five straight free throws and finished 3 of 10 down the stretch.

“We need to make free throws but I think we were exerting so much energy on defense that our legs were a little tired at the end,” said Ashley. “But we need to knock those down. In playoff games it comes down to turnovers, free throws made and rebounds. I thought we did a pretty good job on two of the three.”

Gorham got within 47-44 on a Kristin Ross basket with 40 seconds left before the Stags closed it out.