The top-seeded Stearns High School Minutemen scored the game’s first 15 points and never looked back, cruising to a 61-27 win over No. 8 Sumner of East Sullivan in their Class C North quarterfinal Tuesday night.
Stearns, 14-3, will take on No. 5 Hodgdon in Friday’s 3:30 p.m. semifinal.
Hodgdon, 16-3, ousted Central of Corinth 53-32.
Sumner wound up 11-7.
Junior guard Makayla Anderson pumped in a game-high and career-high 24 points for the winners and senior point guard Alisyn Alley contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots, three steals and three assists.
“We got off to a good start. We have a good point guard [Alley] and she finds the open shooters. And Makayla couldn’t miss,” said Stearns coach Nick Cullen.
“They’re a tremendous team,” said Sumner coach Andrea Alley. “They’re No. 1 for a reason.
“We didn’t have a good night offensively. I don’t know if it was nerves or what,” Andrea Alley said.
Anderson said her teammates had a lot to do with her success.
“I got a lot of open looks,” she said.
Gracyn Saunders opened the scoring with a short runner in the lane and Alisyn Alley followed with a steal and a layup and a pass to Anderson for the first of her four 3-pointers on the night.
Kelly Farber scored off an offensive rebound and Anderson had a steal and a layup and a four-footer from the baseline before she made another steal and fed Alley for a basket.
Callie Chase converted Sumner’s first basket but an Alley basket and two Anderson threes closed out the first period to make it 23-2.
Kasey Kenyon had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Stearns and Farber had seven points and nine rebounds. Saunders added six points.
Sumner received 10 points, three rebounds and two steals from Rachel Colby and five points and seven rebounds from Brianne Flaherty.
Brooklyn Newenham had four points and three rebounds.