AUGUSTA — Gabrielle Wener scored 29 points, 13 in the second quarter, as third-seeded Messalonskee opened the Class A North girls’ basketball quarterfinals Friday with a 63-49 win over No. 6 Medomak Valley at the Augusta Civic Center.

The Eagles (13-6) will make a third straight appearance in the semifinals Wednesday against second-ranked Skowhegan.

Gabrielle Wener, who finished with 29 points for Messalonskee, passes over Aubrey Schaeffer of Medomak Valley. Messalonskee will meet Skowhegan next.

Medomak Valley (11-8) tried to close ground after trailing by 13 halftime, but Messalonskee pulled away in the fourth quarter, coupling an opportunistic transition game with accurate perimeter shooting.

Alyssa Genness added 11 points and Makayla Wilson had 10 for the Eagles.

Medomak got 11 points from Madelyn White, and nine each from Gabrielle DePatsy and Sadie Cohen.

When Wener drained a 3-pointer from just inside the midcourt stripe as the first half ended, she paused to stare down her shot.

She had no idea the ball went in.

“I honestly thought I air-balled it at first,” Wener said. “I didn’t really know. I realized it went in when I started running to the locker room.”

Wener finished 5 of 8 on 3-pointers.

“She’s steady,” Messalonskee Coach Keith Derosby said. “She was here last year. The ball wasn’t in her hands as much … but the moment doesn’t seem to faze her. It’s just another game.”

“Last year definitely prepared me with the energy in the building and how big the court is,” Wener said. “I got that experience. This year I’m more comfortable. I know what the whole energy (is).”

Medomak Coach Ryan McNelly said the Panthers knew Wener was capable of changing the game, even though they defended her well in a 45-44 loss in the regular season.

“Wener just did not do that against us (in the regular season),” McNelly said. “We had great scouting on her and we knew she could do it. She didn’t do it against us last time and I don’t think mentally our girls were prepared for that.”

After a slow start, Messalonskee went on a 13-2 run spanning the end of the first quarter and first three minutes of the second.

The Eagles got to the basket for layups on four consecutive possessions, with Genness accounting for three of them.

“We want to play fast but we don’t want to play hurried in the offensive half,” Derosby said. “We really try to be focused on being able to do both. It’s hard to do. If you’re a fast-paced team, it’s not always easy to call off the horses.”

The run gave Messalonskee an 18-7 lead.

“That’s how we’ve played all year,” Genness said. “We really like to focus on defense because our defense turns into offense … It turns into transition baskets. That’s how we play and that’s how we like to play.”

Messalonskee’s defense, particularly in the first half, made it extremely tough for Medomak to get into a rhythm offensively.

The Panthers committed 10 turnovers in the first quarter and 14 in the first half. They finished with 22.

“That was nerves,” McNelly said. “I don’t want to take any credit away from (Messalonskee), they worked hard. But we were throwing balls to kids running down the court not looking. That’s not defense, that’s nerves.”

Related Stories