BANGOR, Maine — John Bapst struggled at the free-throw line and was inconsistent offensively, but its defense was its cornerstone as has been the case most of this season.
Coach Mike Webb’s second-ranked girls basketball team made enough key stops down the stretch, and Sam Gormley’s free throw in the final seconds finally salted away a 33-29 Eastern Maine Class B quarterfinal victory over determined seventh-ranked Winslow at the Bangor Auditorium Friday.
John Bapst of Bangor advances to Wednesday’s 2:05 p.m. semifinal against third seed Presque Isle, which pulled away for a convincing 62-34 win over No. 6 Medomak Valley of Waldoboro in the first game of the night.
The Crusaders and Wildcats split their two regular-season meetings, each winning at home.
In the second game, the feisty Black Raiders gave Bapst all it could handle, despite the Crusader defense holding Winslow in check most of the game.
“That’s a very good number seven basketball team,” said Webb, whose club improves to 18-2 while Winslow wraps up 14-6.
Winslow shot just 26 percent (13-for-50) for the game, but the Raiders still had plenty of chances to tie down the stretch.
With Winslow trailing 32-27 with under 30 seconds to play, Kelsea Bouchard converted a putback with 28 seconds to play, bringing Winslow within three.
After a Bapst timeout and two missed free throws, the Raiders attacked the rim as opposed to going for the tie, and Bouchard missed two free throws with eight seconds left.
“That’s probably what I would’ve done, they didn’t seem to be shooting too well coming in here, the way we were shooting free throws I would’ve gone for a two and fouled us as well,” Webb said.
Gormley posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Morgan Chasse and Kirsty Moriarty netted seven apiece for the Crusaders.
Freshman forward Megan Pelletier, who led Winslow with 16 points and 15 rebounds, gave Bapst trouble in the paint all night long.
“Pelletier’s as good as we’ve seen all year,” said Webb, who knows his club can shoot better from the foul line, where it was 5 for 16.
“We’re a better free throw shooting team than that, maybe that was nerves, jitters,” the coach said.
The Crusaders were held to 40 percent shooting (14 of 35), but that was mainly thanks to Winslow’s swarming defense.
”Give Winslow credit, they made us play the way we did. They played great defense,” said Webb.
In the first game, Presque Isle raced out to a 20-5 lead early in the second quarter, thanks to a tough 2-3 zone defense and intense ball pressure.
But Medomak’s halfcourt press helped will the Panthers back to within 28-24 by halftime.
Coach Jeff Hudson’s Wildcats then turned up their own defensive heat after intermission, holding the Panthers to four second-half field goals and only 10 points, including three in the fourth quarter while running off 34 themselves.
“At the start of the second half we just knew we had to stop them, if we wanted to win we had to play defense, we really stepped up and made them flustered,” said senior forward Sarah Porter, one of three Wildcats in double figures with 14 points.
Porter also grabbed 12 rebounds while Caitlin Esancy led all scorers with 18 points with Kayla Richards scoring 12 while recording five steals.
The Wildcats improve to 16-4 while Medomak finishes with the same record.
Presque Isle closed out the third quarter on a 9-3 run after Medomak’s Jasmyn Rose converted a fast-break layup to bring the Panthers within 30-28 with 4:38 remaining.
The Wildcats were solid from the free-throw line, going 15 of 21 in the fourth and 17 of 29 for the game.
“We’ve been shooting foul shots more than we want to talk about, so I’m glad it paid of when we needed it to,” Porter said.
Esancy scored 10 of her 18 points in the second half, mainly attacking the Panthers along the baseline and in the post.
“In the second half I took it inside more and then when I was open [outside] I shot it,” said Esancy.
Rose paced Medomak with eight points while Alanna Vose and Danielle Dyer added seven apiece.
