BANGOR, Maine — The quest for a perfect season remains intact for the Southern Aroostook girls following a dominating 76-27 victory over Shead in the Class D North quarterfinals.
The Warriors advance to the semifinals, 3:30 p.m. Thursday against No. 5 Schenck, who beat Deer Isle-Stonington 54-38 in the other quarterfinal.
Winning has become a tradition for the Southern Aroostook girls and coach Cliff Urquhart. Last year, when COVID-19 prevented the MPA tournament from happening, the Warriors were crowned Aroostook County champions with a victory over Class B Presque Isle.
Southern Aroostook appeared in three consecutive state championships prior to the pandemic, winning state titles in 2018 and 2019.
Monday afternoon’s quarterfinal against Shead was a lopsided victory that was never in question as Southern Aroostook jumped to a 38-2 first quarter lead on numerous uncontested layups. The Warriors’ offensive output in the first quarter alone proved greater than the entirety of Shead’s scoring.
“I think we were able to get all the kids [into the game] in the first quarter, and it’s always easy when you can do that,” coach Urquhart said. “It was good to get that experience for some of our eighth-graders.”
Southern Aroostook received balanced scoring through with Madison Russell leading the way with 21 points, including 12 in the first quarter. Madison Shields and Cami Shields each netted 12 points, while Ally Shields added eight; Emmalee Landry had six; Callie Russell and Libby Anderson each had four; Breanne Daggett scored two; and Hannah McGary had one.
For Shead, Ashlee Morang tossed in 22 points, while Jenna Suddy had three and Lindsey Donahe had two.
The Warriors led 38-2, 54-6 and 67-10 at the quarter breaks.
Coach Urquhart said the semifinal matchup with Schenck will be a challenge for the Warriors. “Schenck did a lot of good things, they handled the ball well and played good defense,” he said. “We will have our hands full on Thursday.”
Shead finishes with a 7-12 record.