The Lawrence Bulldogs are playing in the girls Class B state championship on Friday. And the bond between senior co-captain Maddie Provost and Ashley Shores is a big reason why.
“Their connection is phenomenal. They’ve been playing together forever,” Lawrence girls basketball coach Greg Chesley said after his team’s regional championship win over Gardiner. “In our youth system, they’ve come up together. They played some AAU together in their early years. And they know what each other is doing before they even do it.”
That almost telepathic anticipation made the difference for Lawrence on Friday night against Gardiner. Guard Provost and forward Shores combined for an astounding 56 of their team’s 65 points. That’s nearly 90 percent of the Bulldogs’ scoring coming from two players.
“Obviously we work well together,” Provost said after the regional final victory. “We have a lot of chemistry, we’ve been playing together since we were very little. So I think that helps us a lot.”
Shores led all scorers on the night with 29, and Provost was right behind with 27.
The two players always know where the other one is on the floor, Shores explained
“And I feel like no matter where I am, I know to look for Maddie because I’m either going to get the pass or I’m gonna have to get a rebound,” Shores said.
The pair combined for Lawrence’s most important stretch of the game, battling back from an early 5-0 deficit with 10 straight points from Shores. Provost assisted on all of those buckets.
“She had an awesome night,” Provost said about Shores. “We believe in each other, and we know we’ve got each other’s backs.”
That critical 10-point stretch included a full-court pass from Provost to Shores for the lay-in, along with a 3-pointer that Shores followed up with a conventional 3-point play.
“Maddie passing ahead and Ashley running rim to rim is where we got those looks,” Chesley said about the timely teamwork on Friday night.
It was also another resume-building moment for Provost, who is one of three finalists for the Miss Maine Basketball award, which goes to the state’s top senior player.
“She does so much for us,” Chesley said about Provost. “They pressed us 32 minutes today, and early we had a couple turnovers. And actually, she had a couple turnovers. But once we settled in and were able to score off that pressure, that was all led by her doing it.”
And these two seniors aren’t the Bulldogs only weapons, their coach emphasized.
“You can’t fall asleep on the rest of our players. They’re going to do big things in big moments,” Chesley added. “Whether it’s a box-out and a rebound — Leah Tibbetts had some big rebounds. Payton Cole made some big plays for us. And Amiah Lawyerson’s defense was phenomenal.”