NORTH BERWICK — After struggling at the start of the regular season, Bonny Eagle High’s girls’ basketball team finished with a flourish, winning 10 of its final 12 games, with the losses by a total of four points to two playoff teams.
The difference? Defense, of course.
“We’ve been working on a match-up zone since before Christmas,” said Bonny Eagle Coach Scott Regan. “And we kind of morph it to whoever we’re playing.”
The fifth-ranked Scots certainly picked the right adjustment in Thursday night’s Class AA quarterfinal game against fourth-ranked Noble, grabbing a 56-35 win. Bonny Eagle held Noble to just nine points in the middle two quarters to break open a tight game.
“You’ve got to give them credit,” said Noble Coach Matt Reid. “They’ve got some really good players on defense in particular. They’re good athletes and close up the passing lanes quickly. And they can play.”
Bonny Eagle (13-6) will play top-ranked South Portland at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the regional semifinals at Cross Insurance Arena. The teams met in the season opener, with the Red Riots winning 59-28.
Noble, which defeated the Scots 61-47 in the regular season, finished 10-9.
This was a frenetic game for the first eight minutes, with six lead changes and two ties. Bonny Eagle led 15-13 after one on a basket by Samantha Averill.
In the second quarter, the Scots pulled away with a 12-2 run. The Knights could never penetrate Bonny Eagle’s zone and weren’t hitting from the outside either.
“Tonight we showed up to play basketball,” said Bonny Eagle senior point guard Mackenzie Emery. “We’ve come together and we don’t stop.
“We had composure, we knew we had to just stay together and communicate on defense. We played as a team.”
The offense was led by Averill, who had a game-high 22 points, and 6-foot-5 center Emily Bartash, who had 14 and was an intimidating presence inside.
It was Averill’s 3-pointer that got the Scots going in the second, lifting them to a 20-13 lead. A foul shot by Emery made it 21-13.
Lexi Morrill, who led Noble with 12 points, scored inside. Then Bonny Eagle got a 3-pointer from Avianna Rath, followed by a three-point play by Bartash to make it 27-15.
“Our defense and offense just picked it up,” said Averill, who was 9 of 11 at the foul line. “And our shooters were getting open looks.”
The Knights, trailing 29-17 at the half, never made a run in the final two quarters. Bonny Eagle only had five baskets in the second half, but the Scots hit 17 of 22 foul shots. And they never stopped playing defense.
“The girls executed it really well,” said Regan. “One of the things we’ve been preaching since we left here the Friday before Christmas with that loss is that defense is going to survive while the offense can come and go. We’ve made a concerted effort to lock down the defense.”
Knowing that Noble’s players favored driving to the left, the Scots changed their zone to take it away, while also challenging Noble’s outside shooters.
“We just came out and played as a team,” said Averill. “We practiced real hard the last couple of days and just knew what we had to do.”