AUGUSTA — After a back-and-forth first half, the Rangeley girls basketball team tightened up its defense and used a big run to extend its season.
The second-seeded Lakers (11-3) opened the third quarter on a 13-3 run and pulled away from No. 7 Temple, taking a 59-44 victory in a Class D South quarterfinal game Monday morning at the Augusta Civic Center.
Winnie LaRochelle and Emily Eastlack sparked the pivotal run for Rangeley (11-3), which led just 26-25 at the half. LaRochelle scored a game-high 34 points while Eastlack finished with 21.
Rangeley will play No. 3 Seacoast Christian (11-6) in a regional semifinal game at 10 a.m., Thursday.
A highlight of the run came when Eastlack stole the ball, brought it up the court and then made a slick pass to LaRochelle, who converted an easy layup to make it a 37-28 game.
“A lot of the offense came off our transition,” Rangeley coach Brittany Russell said. “Some were off our set plays. I know they get the big numbers but the passing back and forth running down the court on the fast break was what led us to the win after the slow start. Credit to their teammates finding them the ball.”
With 44 seconds left in the third, Eastlack picked up her fourth foul and went to the bench.
Temple guard Ella Baker enjoyed a strong game, scoring 23 points. Russell said she made some adjustments defensively at halftime to try and neutralize Barker.
LaRochelle and Eastlack took turns guarding her in the second half.
“We focused on Ella and just said that we aren’t going to let one person beat us,” Russell said. “We took her away from their offense and we said that when we get our defense working then it will help our offense. That’s what we came out of the locker room focused on. With Emily in foul trouble we had to have Winnie play her and that meant on both ends of the ball she had to work hard. It allowed other people to get the ball and Winnie’s focus was stopping Ella in the second half.”
Rangeley’s Winnie LaRochelle (20) lays up a shot between Temple’s Laura Sales Alonso, left, and Shaven Larsen (15) during the Class D South girls basketball quarterfinal game Monday at the Augusta Civic Center. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
LaRochelle scored 18 points in the second half as the Lakers fended off the Bereans.
“Emily got in some foul trouble so it made me bring the ball up and we got to do a lot of give-and-go’s,” LaRochelle said. “That’s where our offense came into play with the give-and-gos and pick-and-rolls while she was out.”
In the first half, Temple took a 9-8 lead with 3:34 left in the first. However, Baker hit some big baskets, including a 3-pointer to give the Bereans a 25-20 lead with two minutes left in the first half.
“She’s definitely our leading scorer and is not only a great presence for our team but she’s a captain,” Temple coach Lindsay Beaulieu said. “She does a great job of keeping the girls inspired, going, and she takes it upon herself to keep the team working. If the offense isn’t working she really tries to get it going. I’m really proud of her today.”
LaRochelle scored six unanswered points in the final two minutes to give the Lakers a 26-25 halftime lead.
“We really worked on pinning down our offense,” Beaulieu said. “We knew what they were going to put up against us, we know their personnel, we’ve seen them before. The girls and I really prepared for what we were going to see. We tightened up our defense, we knew we would have to cut, move, and play a little bit smarter. Polish up our skills from the year.”
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