PORTLAND

A quarterfinal win 40-plus years in the making had the Freeport High School girls basketball team felling pretty good on Tuesday.

A semifinal victory on Thursday put the Falcons on Cloud 9!

Playing on the Cross Insurance Arena floor for the first time, Freeport dug down deep again defensively, holding off second-seeded Poland for a 40-38 victory on Thursday in the Class B South semifinals.

Freeport, the No. 3 seed with a 16-4 record, will face fourth-seeded Lake Region on Saturday back in Portland in the B South regional final at 1 p.m. The Lakers upset two-time defending regional champ and top-seeded Gray-New Gloucester in Thursday’s second semifinal.

Mike Hart’s Freeport team forced 24 Poland (15-5) turnovers in all, while committing just 11. The miscues by the Knights turned out to be big, as Freeport used the extra possessions to score just enough points for the win. But not without a hard fight from Poland, which lost two key players to fouls in the fourth quarter but still managed to stay in the game.

“I am so proud of them,” said Freeport coach Mike Hart. “The words don’t come out right. They are an unbelievable group, never gave up on either side of the ball today. I started four years ago and I have a core group of kids that have been here the whole time with me. They have gotten better at it, having the experience under our belts to be successful. They are making great memories for themselves. What an opportunity that we have in front of us. We are able to execute because they work hard in practice. That should never be forgotten.”

“This is insane, the way to go out my senior year,” said Freeport forward Jessie Driscoll, who had 12 points and two steals in the win. “This has set the tone for the younger generation. You always dream about this. It is surreal.”

A big push to start the second half allowed Freeport to take control after the teams battled tooth and nail in the first half. Poland’s Nathalie Theriault used her speed to score 13 first-half points as the Knights trailed 22-21 at the half.

In the second half, Freeport’s help-side defense limited Theriault to just five points, and the Poland senior fouled out with 4:08 remaining with Freeport on top 36-33 after a free throw by Taylor Rinaldi.

But, Poland refused to go away, twice pulling within a point before three late turnovers allowed the Falcons to escape and celebrate another tournament victory, their first two since the 1976 Class C championship season.

“I am proud that the kids played 32 minutes and played their hearts out,” said Poland coach Tim Dolley. “The pressure got to us a bit, and we had a hard time adjusting. We responded back, and it was a game of runs. They are a great team, and this was just a good Western Maine Conference battle. Freeport has as much of a chance as anyone else going forward.”

“It was a game that we had to come through,” said Driscoll. “We had great help side defense and we had to support each other.”

“We came together and believed in our defense and what we were doing,” said sophomore captain Caroline Smith. “We focused on (Theriault) the whole game and knew it would be a battle right to the final whistle.”

Neither team gained control in the first half, where over 16 minutes there were three ties and two lead changes, with the lead never more than four points as both squads made runs.

Trailing 11-8, Driscoll scored inside and Smith powered her way through the lane for a 12-11 Freeport lead. Smith scored again in the final minute for a 14-11 advantage after a quarter.

Allie Goodman, who had a team-high 13 points, hit the game’s only 3-pointer early in the second quarter for a 17-13 Falcons lead, but Poland answered with an 8-0 run as Theriault took over. She scored seven points in the opening quarter and added six more in the second.

Freeport closed the half by scoring the final five points, with Driscoll picking up three more for a teamhigh nine at the break, and Megan Cormier putting home a shot for the one-point Falcons lead.

Second half

Freeport started the second half with the first five points to complete a 10-0 run. Joanna Bogue-Marlowe scored and Driscoll finished a three-point play for a 27-21 edge. Moments later, the lead grew to a game-high eight points, 31-23, as Goodman swished two shots, forcing a Knights timeout.

Poland made a run to get back into the game, closing the quarter with the last five points.

Freeport forced a third Poland 10-second violation to open the fourth, along with Theriault picking up her fourth foul. Smith put home a shot and Taylor Dostie canned a pair of free throws for a 33-28 Falcon lead.

After Poland’s Morgan Brousseau brought the Knights to 33-30, Cationa Gould slipped past a Poland defender and scored high off the glass for a 35-30 advantage with 5:16 remaining.

Again Poland refused to go away as Theriault completed a hoop and harm for her final three points. But, the senior fouled out less than a minute later.

For the second straight game, the Falcons had trouble closing out an opponent, as the Knights, despite also losing Alexandra Grondin to fouls, stayed close and had a chance for the tie or win in the final seconds before their 24th turnover ended things.

“Credit to Poland, they didn’t give up and were ready to come out at us,” said Hart. “We were playing not to lose, which is no good at the end of a game, but at the end of the day it takes guts to come through all of that and come out with a win. The defense was very good, and we got three 10- second calls. We just didn’t convert a lot of those turnovers into points.”

Hart felt that his team’s close quarterfinal win over Wells on Tuesday helped.

“Having to play Wells in that first round was great for us. I wanted to see how we reacted on a neutral site. That preparation was great for what we had to do today, play hard and never let up,” said the coach.

Smith finished with six points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals for Freeport, while Goodman pulled down five rebounds. Rinaldi and Gould each had two steals.

Theriault finished with a game-high 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals for Poland, while Jessica Seeley added 10 points. Brousseau chipped in six points and nine rebounds.

No. 3 Freeport 40, No. 2 Poland 38

Class B South Girls Semifinal At Cross Insurance Arena in Portland

	Freeport		—14	8	9	9	—	40
Poland		—	11	10	7	10	—	38

Freeport — Jessie Driscoll 5-2-12,
Joanna Bogue-Marlowe 1-0-2, Taylor
Rinaldi 0-3-3, Caroline Smith 3-0-6,
Allie Goodman 5-2-13, Megan Cormier 1-0-2, Taylor Dostie 0-0-0, Cationa
Gould 1-0-2. Totals — 16-7-40.
Poland — Alexandra Grondin 0-0-0,
Nathalie Theriault 6-6-18, Sarah
Moody 0-0-0, Jessica Seeley 3-4-10,
Morgan Brousseau 2-2-6, Sophia
Vallee 1-0-2, Alyssa Gagne 1-0-2,
Morgan Chouinard 0-0-0. Totals —
13-12-38.
3-point field goal — (F) Goodman.
Records — Freeport 16-4, Poland
15-5.
Up next for the Falcons — Class B
South regional final against No. 4
Lake Region, Saturday at Cross
Insurance Arena in Portland, 1 p.m.