AUGUSTA — Through the first two games of the Class D South girls’ basketball tournament, Blayke Morin of Rangeley played the role of facilitator, passing to open teammates, rebounding and occasionally scoring.
But in the championship game Saturday, Morin took over the offense, scoring a career-high 34 points to lead the top-seeded Lakers to a 58-33 victory over third-seeded Vinalhaven at the Augusta Civic Center.
Rangeley (20-1) won its second straight regional title and will meet Shead (15-6) of Eastport in the state final next Saturday in Augusta.
Shead beat Central Aroostook 44-37 in the Class D North final Saturday at Bangor.
Rangeley’s balanced scoring over the first two tournament games worked out well for Morin and the Lakers.
“I told Blayke if I could have written a script for this week and have somebody else score for us in the first two games, I would have done it, because they had to pay attention to other people,” Rangeley Coach Heidi Deery said.
The Lakers got off to a quick start and in many respects won the game in the first quarter, when they forced 13 turnovers, most off their full-court press.
Morin scored 13 points in the quarter, which ended with Rangeley up 21-2.
“Two weeks of practicing and a scrimmage (before the tourney), we were itching for a game and we wanted to get out there as soon as we could,” Morin said. “So when we did, it was like a practice. Our bench gives us better defense than anyone else, so they pressured us to be better.”
Morin added eight rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists, and was the named the tournament’s outstanding player. She also held Vinalhaven’s leading scorer, Gilleyanne Davis-Oakes, to 10 points.
“I wanted to guard her,” Morin said. “I wanted to shut her down and I think I did that OK.”
The Vikings (16-5) battled back in the second quarter, forcing seven turnovers and outscoring the Lakers 10-4. Deja Doughty scored four of her 12 points in the quarter, which ended with Rangeley in front, 27-12.
Deery adjusted the Lakers’ defense at halftime.
“Once we made the adjustment to stop their penetration, which we had been allowing … I felt like we got back to where we wanted to be.”
Morin set up her teammates several times with back-door passes from the high post. Sydney Royce, who scored 22 points, was on the receiving end of some of those.
Davis-Oakes sat out part of the third quarter and the Lakers went right to Morin, who scored a quick six points to push the lead to 41-27. Morin found Royce on a cut to the hoop to make it 43-27 at the end of three quarters.
Morin is one of the two seniors on a team with five freshmen and three eighth-graders. Their development since an opening-night loss to Richmond has been dramatic.
“This is the most growth, player for player, (I’ve coached) all the way down the line,” Deery said. “They’re supposed to be coached and they want that. We just stuck together and they’re just so coachable.”
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