PORTLAND — Thornton Academy lost just two games during the regular season. The Trojans had a chance to make amends for one of those losses in the Western Maine Class A girls basketball semifinals as they matched up with Gorham. It wasn’t easy, but the Trojans got their revenge as they held on for a 42-32 victory at Cross Insurance Arena.

Second-seeded Thornton had a late lead on the No. 3 Rams during their regular season clash, but Gorham rallied for a win. On Wednesday night, the Trojans didn’t let that lead slip away.

Thornton jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game and led 20-9 midway through the second quarter. But a 10-0 run that spanned the second and third quarters pulled the Rams to within one point halfway through the third.

The game stayed close from there as the Trojans tried to create some breathing room only to see Gorham claw back.

Ashley Woodbury hit a pull-up jumper for Gorham with 3:25 remaining in the game to draw within 32-28. That score stood until Victoria Lux made 1-of-2 free throws for Thornton with 1:12 left. And it was Lux’s miss on the second foul shot that helped the Trojans put the final nails in the coffin.

Thornton’s Hayden Campbell corralled Lux’s miss, which led to Ashley Howe going to the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity. Howe missed the front end, but Lux was there for a put-back that put the Trojans up 35-28.

Thornton senior guard Katie McCrum did the rest, as she nailed 5-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter to salt the game away.

 “Not only do we want her to have the ball, but she wants the ball in those situations,” Thornton head coach Eric Marston said of McCrum. “So we knew we could count on her to ice the game for us.”

“I know she’s going to make it. I just tell her before she goes to the line just to breathe,” Lux said of her classmate. “In practice she always knocks them down.”

Lux herself was a big part of the Trojans’ win, as she had game highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds.

“She’s been in these pressure situations before. She came up with some tremendous rebounds for us there, some put-backs, and was huge inside for us from start to finish,” Marston said of Lux, who transferred home to Thornton Academy after winning three straight state championships at McAuley.

Gorham did what it could to neutralize Lux, but the Rams still couldn’t stop her.

“Obviously we had to throw more than one kid at her,” said Gorham head coach Laughn Berthiaume. “Certainly a kid that’s that strong and that size, we don’t have that size to match, so we got to defend her with a couple kids.”

Lux said that she likes playing on the Cross Arena court, where she has had some of the best games of her career.

Gorham sophomore Emily Esposito had a standout game in her first appearance on the big stage, but her team-high 14 points didn’t come easy.

“She worked for every single one of those baskets,” Marston said of Esposito.

Thornton’s Ashley Howe, who scored a game-high 11 points in the Trojans’ quarterfinal win over Scarborough, went scoreless against Gorham, but Marston said her defensive pressure on Esposito had a “huge impact” on the game.

McCrum, who finished with 11 points, also starred on the defensive end, as she dogged Gorham’s Abby Hamilton all night. Hamilton, who scored a game-high 24 points in the quarterfinals, was held to just seven against TA.

“You expect that they’re going to come out and guard your two best players like that. I wasn’t surprised with the defensive pressure they put on them,” Berthiaume said of the focus on Hamilton and Esposito. “They’re a solid defensive team and they’re well-coached.”

The Trojans righted one wrong on their schedule in the semifinals, and they will get the chance for revenge on their other loss in the regional final on Saturday, as they face top-seeded McAuley. The two teams split during the regular season.

“We’re certainly ecstatic that we’ve made it to the Western Maine final, but at the same time we’re not remotely satisfied,” said Marston, who has guided Thornton to the regional final for the first time since 1985.

Lux, who has made a regular trip out of regional final appearances, said this season’s trip means “everything.”

“This is a new team I’m on this year, and I’m loving it every step of the way. (My teammates) have been great. We’re not going to go easy; we’re going to go all the way,” said Lux. “We’re all family, and we have nothing to lose, so we’re just going to go all for it, risk it all.”

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.