Despite a loss to second-seeded Gray-New Gloucester in the season opener, third-ranked Greely was viewed by some as the favorite Thursday in their Western Class B girls’ basketball semifinal because of 6-foot-3 standout Ashley Storey.

If Moira Train and Isabel Porter shoot even close to the way they did in a 57-34 rout, the Rangers will be favored over anyone they’ll play.

“If they play like that the rest of the way they’re not going to get beat by anybody …, not in this state in Class B,” Gray-New Gloucester Coach Mike Andreasen said. “I’m not disrespecting anybody else. That was pretty impressive.”

Porter and Train combined to make 10 of their first 11 shots at the Cross Insurance Arena, including three 3-pointers each as the Rangers roared to a 49-16 lead through three quarters.

Train finished with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.

“Shots were just falling. I was really happy,” Train said. “The score was just going up. It was a good game for us. We were all happy.”

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Porter came off the bench to score 11 of her 16 points in the first quarter as Greely (18-2) raced to a 23-5 lead. Porter finished the quarter with a running 3-pointer that banked hard off the board and in. She was 6 of 7 from the field for the game – 3 of 4 on 3s.

“I was really nervous. I’ve never played at the (CIA) and my teammates were saying it was really different than the Expo,” said Porter, who missed Greely’s semifinal loss last year because of a concussion. “That first shot really gave me confidence, and I felt it so I just kept shooting.”

Greely will face ninth-seeded Cape Elizabeth (11-9) in the regional final at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Greely beat the Capers twice this year, 63-30 at Cape Elizabeth on Jan. 31 and 35-25 at home six days later.

Greely last reached the regional final in 2012, losing to Lake Region. The Rangers were bounced by Lake Region in the semifinals the past two seasons.

“Making it past the semifinals was a goal for me and the team,” Storey said.

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Storey scored 12 points. She looked for her own shot early, then became a passing pivot to facilitate Train and Porter.

“They’re really good shooters so when they’re on fire, they can’t stop,” Storey said. “I’m excited for the next game and to see if they continue to shoot that well.”

Greely’s zone defense stymied the Patriots (18-2), who were seeking their first regional title since 2002.

Isabelle DeTroy, who moved into the starting lineup when senior Zoe Adams went down with a late-season injury, led Gray-New Gloucester with 11 points. Grace Kariotis added eight.

The Patriots’ leading scorer, Maria Valente, was held to three points.

“The plan was to mix in some man-to-man with our zone, but the zone was just working so well,” Greely Coach Joel Rogers said. “Primarily it (worked because) Valente couldn’t find a spot she felt comfortable in. But the big thing was it enabled us to get out and run.”

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Greely started a 24-2 run in the first quarter when Train buried a 3-pointer after a sequence of good ball movement. Porter quickly followed with two layups and a baseline 3-pointer, all in transition.

Greely led 34-10 at the half.

“I told the kids that I thought that first half was darn near perfect, and I thought the third quarter was perfect under the conditions, to just put the game away,” Rogers said.

Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or:

scraig@pressherald.com

Twitter: SteveCCraig


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