In a rare occurrence, there will be the same semifinal matchups as a year ago during the Class A North girls basketball tournament at the Augusta Civic Center on Tuesday night.
The top-seeded Skowhegan (19-0) girls face No. 5 Messalonskee of Oakland (11-8) at 7 p.m. and No. 2 Hampden Academy (15-4) takes on No. 3 Lawrence High of Fairfield (13-6) at 8:30 p.m.
Last season, Hampden Academy ousted Lawrence 42-31 and Messalonskee upended Skowhegan 52-49.
Hampden Academy wound up beating Messalonskee in the final 42-37.
[Check out the latest A North girls bracket standings here]
Over the previous nine seasons, all four schools have won regional championships.
Prior to Hampden’s championship last season, Messalonskee won it in 2017 and Lawrence captured back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016.
Skowhegan last won the Class A North championship in 2010.
Undefeated Skowhegan hasn’t reached a regional title game since 2010.
But Mike LeBlanc’s senior-laden Indians have been the cream of the crop this season, winning every game but one by double figures.
The only game that wasn’t a double-digit win was a 22-14 victory over defending state Class B champ Winslow, which utilized a deliberate offense to keep the game close.
Skowhegan won both regular-season meetings with Messalonskee, 62-40 and 70-45, while Hampden Academy and Lawrence split, each winning on the other team’s court.
HA won at Lawrence 48-29 on Dec. 14 but Lawrence avenged that loss at HA 57-48 on Jan. 19.
In the quarterfinals, 6-foot-3 center Bailey Donovan had 25 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots as Hampden Academy topped Erskine Academy of South China 44-26.
Gabrielle Wener’s 16 points led Messalonskee to a 39-33 victory over Gardiner.
[Check out the latest A South girls bracket standings here]
Freshman Jaycie Christopher’s 13 points and 11 more from senior Annie Cooke, including her 1,000th career point, led Skowhegan past upset-minded Camden Hills 46-30.
Lawrence received 18 points from Brooklyn Lambert in its 44-26 win over Medomak Valley of Waldoboro.
All four teams have been playing some of their best basketball down the stretch.
In addition to Skowhegan’s 19 consecutive victories, Messalonskee has won five of its last six games with the only loss coming at the hands of Skowhegan.
The Broncos are 4-1 in their last five games with their only setback coming at the hands of Class AA North semifinalist Bangor.
And Lawrence will enter its semifinal with seven wins over its last nine games.
The Class A South tournament quarterfinals were played on Monday with defending state champ Greely of Cumberland Center being the top seed.