The second-seeded Gardiner girls basketball team topped No. 7 Medomak Valley of Waldoboro 58-30 in a Class A North quarterfinal matchup Friday at the Augusta Civic Center.
Gardiner (18-1) dominated the backboards and cashed in at the free-throw line to advance to next Wednesday’s 2 p.m. semifinal against No. 6 Skowhegan, a 57-40 winner over Messalonskee of Oakland in Friday’s first game.
Junior forward Bailey Poore led the Tigers with 13 points and five rebounds, while 6-foot-3 freshman center Izzy Gruber added 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Medomak Valley ends its season with a 6-13 record after falling in the quarterfinals for the third straight year.
Sadie Cohen and Alyssa Creamer scored nine points each for the Panthers.
Gardiner jumped out to a 19-2 lead early in the second quarter, dominating play with a balanced, fast-paced offense and a rangy defense featuring Gruber, who had four blocks and a steal in the first half alone.
The Gardiner lead was 29-12 at halftime as Poore scored eight points, one of five different Tigers with at least four points during the game’s first 16 minutes.
Gardiner also made 11 of 13 free throws in the first half en route to a 24 of 34 performance from the line for the game.
Medomak Valley, which had defeated Gardiner 53-51 at Waldoboro on Feb. 4 in a game when Gruber did not play, got within 31-19 two minutes into the third quarter on a drive by Creamer.
But the Tigers roared back, working the paint and the offensive boards for a 12-0 run that pushed their lead to 46-21 a minute into the final period.
