AUGUSTA — Yes, these are the same Messalonskee girls that scored 19 and 14 points in back-to-back games this season, and barely held on to a playoff spot. And these are the same Morse girls who were 17-1 in the regular season, and earned the No. 1 seed in Eastern A.
So it was a complete shocker that Messalonskee took the lead for good in the second quarter, shut down Morse star Nikolene Ostergaard in the second half and scored a stunning 53-43 victory in an Eastern A girls basketball quarterfinal Friday night at the Augusta Civic Center.
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“We knew we were the underdog,” said Messalonskee’s Megan Pelletier, who scored a game-high 20 points. “We had nothing to lose. It worked out for us. We wanted it.”
Messalonskee improves to 10-9 and will face Cony in the Eastern A semifinals. Morse finishes its season at 17-2.
The game went the way everyone thought it would for a little over eight minutes. Early in the second quarter, Ostergaard (13 points on 6 of 15 shooting) hit a 3-pointer to increase Morse’s lead to 17-10.
But just a few seconds later, Ostergaard tried for a steal and was called for her second foul. Morse coach Mike Hart immediately sat her down, and just as immediately, the game changed.
Mary Badeen (17 points) continued to hit from the outside, and without Ostergaard’s presence inside, Pelletier and Mickee McCafferty were able to control the paint at both ends. By the time Ostergaard got back in the game, after sitting for 3 minutes and 18 seconds, the Eagles had gone on an 11-0 run to lead 21-17.
“Their momentum went down,” Badeen said, “and we just kept going.”
Whether it was confidence, momentum, or some combination of the two, Messalonskee continued to play well even with Ostergaard back on the floor. The Eagles led 29-19 at one point, and settled for a 29-22 halftime advantage after Badeen hit a running scoop shot in the final moments but was whistled for her third foul after a delayed call by the officials.
Messalonskee began the third quarter on another 9-0 run, and Pelletier scored nine points in the quarter. The Eagles led by as much as 16 three different times.
Morse made one final charge when Emma Block and Kathryn Henrikson hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to get the Shipbuilders within 47-41 with 4:14 to play. But Messalonskee scored the next five points, and Morse made just five of 21 field goal attempts in the fourth quarter.
The game was such a far cry from Messalonskee’s low point this season — back-to-back losses of 39-19 to Brunswick and 47-14 to Edward Little. But for everyone playing, coaching or rooting for Messalonskee, it was worth it.
“It was a struggle for us,” Pelletier said. “We were having a rough time. We knew what we had to do, and we went out there and did it. We had a goal at the end of the season, and right now, we’re achieving that goal.”
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
mdifilippo@centralmaine.com
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