TOURNEY SCOREBOARD
EASTERN MAINE
Class D semifinals
D5: Girls, No. 3 Fort Fairfield 54, No. 2 Southern Aroostook 47
D6: Girls, No. 1 Woodland 56, No. 5 Washburn 21
D5: Boys, No. 3 Shead (17-3) vs. No. 2 Central Aroostook (17-3), ppd., Fri., 9:35 a.m.
D6: Boys, No. 4 Woodland (13-7) vs. No. 9 Bangor Christian (9-11), ppd., Fri., 11:05 a.m.
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WESTERN MAINE
Class D semifinals
D5: Girls, No. 2 Valley 41, No. 3 Forest Hills 28
D6: Girls, No. 5 Rangeley 38, No. 1 Buckfield 37
Class B semifinals
B5: Girls, No. 2 Greely 49, No. 3 Mountain Valley 27
B6: Girls, No. 1 York 47, No. 4 Falmouth 37
B5: Boys, No. 4 Cape Elizabeth 46, No. 1 Greely 45
B6: Boys, No. 2 Falmouth 52, No. 6 Lake Region 49
Class C semifinals
C5: Girls, No. 2 Jay 41, No. 6 Winthrop 35
C6: Girls, No. 1 Waynflete 49, No. 4 Mount Abram 42
C5: Boys, No. 2 Wiscasset 47, No. 6 St. Dominic 42
C6: Boys, No. 1 Dirigo 68, No. 4 Traip 34
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Eastern Maine Class D girls
No. 3 Fort Fairfield holds off Warriors
By Ryan McLaughlin, BDN Staff
BANGOR — Coach Larry Gardner’s third-seeded Fort Fairfield Tigers advanced to just the second Eastern Maine Class D girls final in school history, using a blend of 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone defenses to frustrate No. 2 Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook and earn a 54-47 win over the Warriors at the Bangor Auditorium Thursday night. The Tigers (20-1) advance to Saturday’s 9:05 a.m. regional championship game while SAHS completed a strong campaign at 17-3. Junior forward Courtney Churchill didn’t let the aftereffects of the flu bother her any, as her 12 points and three steals in the second quarter fueled a 20-5 run which gave Fort Fairfield a 30-16 halftime lead. Gardner switched things up defensively in the second period, mixing up his zones after playing man all of the first, and the Warriors managed just two field goals — one being a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Warriors fought back in the second half after the Tigers scored the first six points of the third quarter to stretch the lead to 20, embarking on a 15-0 run to close within six in the final minute of the third. The Tigers responded at the end of the third going into the fourth, with Amber Forsman’s putback capping a 10-0 spurt which put Fort Fairfield back up by 15 with 4:51 remaining. Freshman Amanda Hotham, who has been dynamite for the Tigers all season, scored 13 points and was 9-for-10 from the free-throw line while Churchill’s 16 led all scorers. Evangeline Goodall and Brittany Charette finished with 11 points apiece for the Warriors while Liz Goodall finished with nine.
Dragons top Washburn, remain unbeaten
By Ernie Clark, BDN Staff
BANGOR — Junior guard Ariel Knights scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds as top-ranked Woodland remained unbeaten with a 56-21 victory over No. 5 Washburn in an Eastern Maine Class D girls basketball semifinal at the Bangor Auditorium on Thursday night. The win advances the defending state champions (19-0) to Saturday morning’s regional final against No. 3 Fort Fairfield, a 54-47 semifinal winner over No. 2 Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook. Washburn finished its season with a 15-6 record. Woodland’s defense forced 29 Washburn turnovers in the first half while building a 22-8 lead. Washburn jumped out to a 5-2 lead on a basket and a free throw by Rachel Palmer and a jumper by Meghan Saucier with 2:30 left in the first period. But Knights scored on a layup with 1:57 left — Woodland’s first field goal of the contest — to ignite a run of 14 unanswered points by the Dragons good for a 16-5 advantage on a follow-up shot by Burtt with 5:17 left in the first half. Kelsey Burtt added 10 points for Woodland while Nicholas had eight points and freshman forward Taylor Cochran grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Palmer had nine points, 10 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals for Washburn.
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GIRLS BASKETBALL
WM Class D
Valley 41, Forest Hills 28
At Augusta Civic Center, Cindy Schultz scored 16 points as No. 2 Valley of Bingham beat No. 3 Forest Hills of Jackman. Jocelyn Laweryson had 10 points for Valley. Elise Begin led Forest Hills with 11 points.
Rangeley 38, Buckfield 37
At Augusta Civic Center, No. 5 Rangeley outscored top-seeded Buckfield 9-0 in the fourth quarter to earn the one-point win. Hayley White scored five of her nine points in the fourth quarter for Rangeley. Angela White led the team with 17 points. Emily Eastman led Buckfield with 14 points. Lindsay Henderson added 13 points.
WM Class C
Waynflete 49, Mount Abram 42
At Augusta Civic Center, Annie Cutler scored 17 points as No. 1 Waynflete of Portland beat No. 4 Mount Abram of Strong. Morgan Woodhouse had 15 points for Waynflete. Kenni Norton led Mount Abram with 19 points as Mikayla Burbank added 13 points.
Jay 41, Winthrop 35
At Augusta Civic Center, Hillary Deane scored 13 points to lift No. 2 Jay over No. 6 Winthrop. Lindsay Gordon paced Winthrop with 12 points.
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BOYS BASKETBALL
WM Class C
Wiscasset 47, St. Dominic 42
At Augusta, Jason Dennison scored nine of his team-high 12 points in the second half as No. 2 Wiscas-set rallied past No. 6 St. Dominic of Lewiston. Aaron Allen led St. Dominic with 16 points, while Peter Keaney scored 14.
Dirigo 68, Traip 34
At Augusta, senior center Thomas Knight scored 23 points as top-ranked Dirigo of Dixfield cruised to victory over No. 4 Traip Academy of Kittery. Eric Bolduc added 12 points for the Cougars, while Tristan Franchetti scored 11 and Tyler Chiasson added 10. Dustin Leclair and Riley Sheahan scored seven points each for Traip.