Story by Joseph Cyr, special to the BDN
HODGDON, Maine — A strong defensive effort helped carry the Hodgdon girls to a 55-39 victory over George Stevens Academy Tuesday evening in a Class C North preliminary playoff.
No. 6 Hodgdon (15-4 overall) used tremendous hustle on both ends of the court, particularly in the first half, to seize a 34-18 halftime lead over the visiting No. 11 Eagles of Blue Hill and never looked back.
The Hawks now travel to Bangor on Monday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m.to take on No. 3 Penobscot Valley (16-2) in the quarterfinals at the Cross Insurance Center. GSA ends its season with a 6-13 overall record.
Hodgdon played without the services of its ace, junior Anna Oliver, who has missed the past five games with an undisclosed injury. Earlier in the season, Oliver scored the 1,000th point of her high school career, but has been unable to take the court since playing in a Jan. 24 game.
Senior Aleyah Matheson poured in a game-high 26 points, including three from behind the 3-point arc, to carry the Hawks offensively. Tori Gilman chipped in with 12 points, while Gracie Little added 11; Meghan Peters had four; and Sydney Harvey added two.
“Aleyah really impressed me tonight,” Hodgdon coach Matt Day said. “She knew she had to step up big for us tonight and she did. This whole team has really had to step up and I could not be more proud.”
After GSA rallied in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 14 to end the period down 43-29, Matheson gave Hodgdon a huge boost to start the final quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers. From there, the Hawks were able to work a considerable amount of time off the clock en route to the victory.
For GSA, Hallie Clifford led the way with 13 points, including a pair from behind the 3-point arc. Corina Walden chipped in 10 points for the Eagles, while Amelia Jackson added nine; Camryn Allen had four; Layla Hutchins, two; and Taylor Grego, one.
Both teams converted nine of 15 foul shots on the evening.
This story was updated to correct the day of the quarterfinals