PORTLAND — Inside, outside or in between, on offense or on defense, Lake Region High showed Saturday afternoon why it was the top-ranked team all season among Western Class B girls’ basketball teams.
The Lakers methodically dismantled No. 3 Greely in the regional championship game, pulling away early and never letting up in a 49-30 victory at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
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With its pressure defense taking Greely’s guards completely out of the game — the Rangers’ backcourt accounted for only eight points — Lake Region easily advanced to the school’s sixth Class B state title game.
The Lakers (19-2) will play Eastern champ Presque Isle (21-0) at the Bangor Auditorium at 7 p.m. Friday. The schools met there in 2006, a game won by Presque Isle, 48-36.
The Lakers were led by junior guard Sydney Hancock, who received the Mike DiRenzo Award as the tournament’s outstanding player/sportsperson. After struggling in the first two games, she had 22 points, four assists and four steals against Greely.
“This feels absolutely amazing,” said Hancock. “We’ve been working toward this all year and to have it actually happen, it’s just amazing.”
After Greely scored the game’s first basket — a floater in the late by freshman star Ashley Storey — Lake Region scored the next eight points. Included in that run was a 3-pointer by Abby Craffey, who hit three in the game and tied the tournament record with eight.
It was 13-6 after one quarter, then Hancock heated up. She scored 10 in the second quarter, hitting two 3-pointers, the last one giving Lake Region a 29-10 halftime lead.
“You have good shooting days, you have off shooting days,” said Hancock. “That’s how the game goes. Today, I mean, this is it. I decided this was the time to let go. I was feeling it and the confidence just kept growing.”
Lake Region Coach Paul True said he felt Hancock would have a good game against Greely: “You’re talking about a kid who’s put in a lot of time, and in big moments like this, kids like that step forward and she did that.”
Craffey began the second half with a 3, and Lake Region capped a 13-0 run that made it 36-10 midway through the third quarter.
“We did a great job out there today,” said Craffey. “It was amazing to play like that.”
Especially defensively. Knowing that Greely’s strength is inside with the Storey sisters — junior Jaclyn and Ashley — the Lakers pressured Greely’s guards every moment, making it difficult to get the ball inside. The Rangers didn’t get a point from a guard until 50 seconds remained in the third.
“We knew that was a big key for us,” said True. “We thought we could apply some pressure out on the perimeter and just make it difficult on every possession to get it inside.”
And when the Rangers did get it inside, Lake Region’s 6-foot-1 sophomore center. Tiana-Jo Carter, was there. She had five blocked shots, along with nine points and 14 rebounds.
Kim Hilbrich, Greely’s first-year coach, said the Rangers simply couldn’t get enough offense.
“I don’t know what our shooting percentage was,” she said. “And I don’t think I want to know. I think we have the ability to play with anyone in the state. I still believe that. It just wasn’t our day.”
Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:
mlowe@pressherald.com
Twitter: MikeLowePPH
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