AUGUSTA, Maine — The Lawrence Bulldogs used the 3-point line to get ahead and the free-throw line to stay there as the fourth-ranked Bulldogs held off No. 5 Brewer 51-37 in a Class A North girls basketball quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center on Friday night.
The win advances the Bulldogs of Fairfield (12-7) to Wednesday’s 4 p.m. semifinal against the winner of Friday’s late game between No. 1 Hampden Academy and No. 8 Gardiner.
Brewer, making its first appearance in a regional quarterfinal since 2000, ended its season with an 11-8 record.
Lawrence, which lost to Brewer by 25 points during their only meeting of the regular season, opened the game shooting lights out from beyond the arc in racing out to an 11-0 lead.
Brewer clawed back and got as close as 23-22 midway through the third quarter, so the Bulldogs started taking the ball to the basket and were rewarded with a bevy of free throws.
Lawrence made 9 of 10 from the line during one stretch as it moved back out to a 32-28 lead by the end of the third quarter and then outscored Brewer 10-2 during the first 90 seconds of the final period to regain control.
Junior guard Brooklynn Lambert led Lawrence with 15 points while sophomore guard Megan Curtis scored 14 points and sophomore guard Keagan Alley contributed nine points, eight rebounds and five assists. Senior forward Molly Folsom grabbed five rebounds and made 5 of 6 free throws, all in the second half.
Junior forward Rebecca Gideon paced Brewer with 11 points and senior forward Sierra Strang added seven points, all in the second half.
Lawrence overcame 11 first-half turnovers to maintain a 23-14 lead at intermission.
Lawrence’s early offensive blitz came from long range, as the Bulldogs made four of their first five shots from beyond the arc.
Curtis hit two from beyond the arc after one by Alley as Lawrence scored 11 points before Brewer finally got on the scoreboard when Gideon followed in her own miss with 3:27 left in the opening period.
Brewer crept back into the game as Ashley Tanguay made four straight free throws to pull the Witches within 14-6 by the end of the quarter.
The Witches twice drew within seven points during the second quarter, but Lambert scored twice after Brewer turnovers late in the period to keep Lawrence in charge.
