AUGUSTA — Fourth-seeded Seacoast Christian used its size advantage to dominate inside, as Ruth Towne and Kirin DeSmith each posted double-doubles Tuesday to lead the Guardians to a 60-34 win over Forest Hills in a Western Class D girls’ basketball quarterfinal.
Towne finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Guardians (16-3), who will play top-seeded Richmond at 11:30 a.m. Thursday. DeSmith had a strong all-around game, finishing with 16 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and five assists.
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“Our defense was huge,” Seacoast Coach Charlie Johnson said. “I knew we would get some opportunities on offense. We just kept crashing the boards. Getting it inside was the key. It was what we wanted to do. But we also played great defense. We’ve been holding teams to 25 points a game.”
No. 5 Forest Hills ends the season 13-6.
“They were bigger, stronger and more experienced,” Forest Hills Coach Mike LeBlanc said. “They played with a lot of confidence, and that was what I was worried about.”
Dana McNally scored 10 points and Keely Taylor added eight for Forest Hills.
“I knew we’d come out with some jitters but I was hoping they would last for just a couple of minutes,” LeBlanc said. “But they stuck around a lot longer.”
Forest Hills doesn’t have a player 5-foot-6 or taller. Seacoast Christian has two — the 5-8 DeSmith and 5-9 Towne — and both were big factors.
Towne dominated inside, grabbing seven offensive rebounds, and DeSmith kept the Tigers off-balance with big outside shots.
“The height advantage was the biggest factor,” Towne said. “But our defense played great. Our defense really sets up our offense.”
Seacoast Christian put the game away with an 18-0 run that spanned the end of the first quarter and start of the second.
Towne scored eight points in that stretch, which pushed a 5-4 lead to 23-4 with about four minutes left in the half.
“We just got it into the taller people,” DeSmith said. “We were just scoring.”
The Guardians, who took advantage of 28 turnovers, led 31-15 at the half, then opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run.
Jocelyn Hoyt added six points and three assists for the Tigers.
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