Emily Esposito of Gorham, and the Greely tandem of Matt McDevitt and Jordan Bagshaw are among the Miss and Mr. Maine basketball semifinalists.

The awards honor the top high school seniors in the state, taking into account skill, leadership, respect for the game and sportsmanship. Three finalists for each award will be announced next week, and the winner will be announced March 10 at the Maine McDonald’s Senior All-Star banquet in Bangor.

Esposito, who has committed to play at Villanova, led Gorham to the 2016 Class AA title and is a three-time Maine Sunday Telegram All-State player. Gorham has won 40 straight games heading into the Class AA South final Friday against South Portland. Other Miss Maine semifinalists announced Wednesday are Katie Butler of Bangor, Megan Peach of Dexter, Jordyn Reynolds of Edward Little, Morgan Dauk of George Stevens, Emi Higgins of Hermon, Rylee Warman of Houlton, Sophia Holmes of Messalonskee, Emily Lagerstrom of Presque Isle and Emma Alley of Stearns.

McDevitt, a 6-foot-7 forward, and Bagshaw, a guard, are both captains for Greely, the top seed in Class A South and one of only three undefeated boys’ teams in the state. Other Mr. Maine semifinalists are Cheverus guard Jack Casale, Falmouth guard Colin Coyne, Medomak Valley forward Cam Allaire, Mason Cooper of Lawrence, Riley Swanson of Mt. Desert Island, Nate Desisto of Orono, Justin Thompson of Schenck and Jacob Hickey of Winthrop.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

MESSALONSKEE 70, HAMPDEN ACADEMY 31: McKenna Brodeur and Sophie Holmes each scored 16 points and the top-seeded Eagles (20-0) routed the No. 5 Broncos (12-8) in a Class A North semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.

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Messalonskee built a 39-19 halftime lead with the help of 12 points from Brodeur, who also played a big role in shutting down Hampden’s 6-foot-4 center, Bailey Donovan. Donovan was held to four points after she scored 21 against Lawrence in the quarterfinals.

The Eagles made 16 of 26 shots in the first half and ended the half with a 15-0 run.

Ally Turner contributed 14 points for Messalonskee.

NOKOMIS 45, SKOWHEGAN 32: Sidney Moore scored 20 points and the third-seeded Warriors (16-4) limited No. 2 Skowhegan (15-5) to 23 percent shooting in a Class A North semifinal victory.

Olivia Brown added 10 points for Nokomis. Annie Cooke led Skowhegan with 12 points.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

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MESSALONSKEE 64, SKOWHEGAN 55: James Kouletsis made a tying basket with time running out in regulation, and the fifth-seeded Eagles (15-5) pulled away in overtime to beat the eighth-seeded Indians (11-10) in a Class A North semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.

Skowhegan, which stunned previously undefeated Medomak Valley in the quarterfinals, was on the verge of another upset with a five-point lead in the final minute of regulation. But a three-point play by Dawson Charles and a 3-pointer by Nate Violette put Messalonskee in position to tie it in the closing seconds.

Violette finished with 25 points, and Kouletsis and Chase Warren each scored 13 for Messalonskee.

Skowhegan’s Cameron Barnes scored 27 points. Garrett McSweeney added 12.

BOYS’ HOCKEY

PORTLAND/DEERING 3, BIDDEFORD 2: Dominic Tocci’s goal with 2:22 remaining gave the Bulldogs (10-7-1) a win over the Tigers (10-8) in a regular-season finale at Biddeford Ice Arena.

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Biddeford took a 2-1 lead on Brady Crepeau’s second goal of the game with 8:56 remaining, but Walter Lewandowski tied it just 23 seconds later.

Joe Herboldsheimer also scored for Portland, which is expected to host a Class A South quarterfinal next week as the No. 4 seed.

SCARBOROUGH 5, SOUTH PORTLAND/FREEPORT/WAYNFLETE 1: Eric Murray dished out three assists and the Red Storm (10-7-1) scored three goals in the third period to pull away from the Red Riots (7-11) at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Cam Smith had a goal and an assist, and Skylar Pettingill, Brett Rockey, Wyatt Palmer and Sam Neugebauer added a goal apiece for Scarborough, which led 2-1 going into the third.

Gus Lappin scored for South Portland off an assist from Max Winson.

YORK 6, GREELY 2: Julius Lundgren had two goals and an assist to lead the Wildcats (15-2) over the Rangers (11-6) at Family Ice Center in Falmouth.

Ryan Sullivan and Andrew Moore tallied third-period goals for Greely.

WATERVILLE 8, OLD TOWN/ORONO 7: Matt Jolicouer’s power-play goal with 41 seconds left lifted the Purple Panthers (17-1) to a win over the Coyotes (14-2-2) in Waterville.


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