By Mike Corrado, Special to the BDN
The second-seeded Hampden Academy Broncos took down No. 7 Gardiner 69-31 in a Girls Class A North quarterfinal basketball matchup at the Augusta Civic Center on Friday. Hampden will now move on to play Cony High on Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center, after they defeated Brewer High earlier this evening.
Hampden showed little regard for the opposition from the opening tip-off, as any bad pass or loose ball became a lucrative scoring opportunity for the Broncos.
“I told the girls, every time we walk onto the court you never know how you’re gonna shoot it. But the one thing we can always do is defend it well”, head coach Nick Winchester said postgame.
“This stretch where we won eight of our last nine games, it’s about us being good on the defensive end and us being patient on the offensive end”, Winchester continued.
After junior forward Caitlyn Murphy dropped in the first five points of the contest on a tough lay-up and corner three, Hampden’s offense followed suit in their efficiency. Senior guard Lucy Wiles did her best Murphy impression as the first quarter drew to a close, bagging an and-one on a tough layup in traffic to extend her side’s lead to 18-5 at the end of the opening frame.
Though the Tigers showed signs of life as they stepped up defensively in the second quarter, they still found themselves facing a 13-point deficit at the half. With an opportunity to get back into the game on the table, Hampden locked in and came out firing to start the second half.
While Murphy continued her strong drives to the hoop, Wiles continually found herself in pockets of space thanks to some fantastic spacing from her teammates. Subsequently, she rewarded her cohorts with a 23-point scoring outburst. Freshman forward Aubrey Shaw quietly put together a great scoring night, chipping in 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting beyond the arc.
Winchester was pleasantly surprised by the performance.
“I’m not surprised we shot it well, I’m surprised at how well we shot it,’’ he said. “We don’t live and die by the three, that’s not our game.”
On the other end of the court, Gardiner was led by junior guard Emilee Brown and her eight points, though they did little to account for the massive deficit the Tigers faced. Hampden now advances to the semifinals of the tournament, and looks primed to make a run at the championship.