BANGOR- The Southern Aroostook Warriors started slowly, but rallied for a 48-42 Class D semifinal schoolgirl basketball win over Easton Thursday night at the Cross Insurance Center.
Easton, making their first tourney appearance since 1991, went on a 8-0 run and built a 12-2 lead in the first quarter behind seven points from Sara Gilman. The Bears held a 12-6 lead after one quarter.
With the Bears leading 17-8 in the second, the Warriors rolled off an 11-0 run to take after 19-17 lead, with eight of the 11 from Kacy Daggett. Casey Lovely ended the run with a short jumper to tie the game 19-19, but the Warriors es took a slim 22-21 lead into halftime.
A back and forth third quarter with four lead changes, saw Easton gain a 34-33 after three quarters on a Gilman short jumper with 15 seconds left. Isabelle Morin has seven in the quarter for Easton, while Kylie Vining had five for Southern Aroostook.
The Warriors were able to outscore the Bears 15-8 though in the final and decisive fourth quarter, to advance to the regional final Saturday morning. Southern Aroostook claimed the win despite shooting just 10-33 from the foul line in the game and just 2-12 in the fourth quarter.
Easton, who finishes a great tournament run with a record of 11-9, were led by Morin who finished with 13 points and three rebounds. Gilman had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Lovely finished with seven points, two rebounds, and one steal. Easton shot 9-15 from the line but had 17 turnovers.
Southern Aroostook was led by Vining who had 13 points and six rebounds. Daggett had 12 points, six rebounds, one steal, and one blocked shot. Makaelyn Porter had nine points, all from three point range. Kassidy Mathers also chipped in eight points, three rebounds, two steals, and one assist.
Southern Aroostook (19-1) will now face Shead for the Class D Northern Maine regional title on Saturday morning at 9:05 a.m. Shead (18-2), defeated Washburn in the first semifinal Thursday.
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