If this was to be Anna DeWolfe’s last game on the Cross Insurance Arena basketball court, she made sure it was a memorable one.

DeWolfe, the Greely High senior guard, scored 32 points Saturday night to lead the top-ranked and unbeaten Rangers to a 54-33 victory over second-ranked Brunswick in the Class A South girls’ basketball championship game.

The victory was Greely’s 37th straight and sent the Rangers (21-0) into the state championship game for the second consecutive year, a rematch with Hampden Academy scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at the Augusta Civic Center. Greely won last year, 53-38.

“Going out there I told myself this could be my last game – ‘Go out like it’s your last one, have fun, enjoy who you’re playing with,’ ” said DeWolfe. “I’m alongside all my best friends. There’s nothing more I could ask for.”

This was the third straight year Greely and Brunswick met in the regional final, with each winning one of the first two. This time the suspense was over quickly.

With their defense harassing the Dragons every inch of the court, the Rangers scored the first 15 points. The closest Brunswick got after that was 10, at 20-10 with 5:41 left in the half on a basket by Rosalie White, but Greely recovered to make it 30-12 at the break.

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“I think it started with our defense,” said DeWolfe. “And we were all pretty fired up at the beginning of the game, to go out there and start good.”

“We had it in our mind we needed to get into a fast start,” said guard Brooke Obar. “Especially this type of game where Brunswick could come back at any point in time.”

But the Rangers wouldn’t allow that to happen. Greely forced Brunswick into 16 turnovers in the first half and committed only one.

“I think being plus-15 at the half is pretty darn good,” said Greely Coach Todd Flaherty. “Normally we would convert more of those and maybe score a few more points but I’m very happy with (the defense).”

The opening quarter was certainly the worst-case scenario for Brunswick, which finished 19-2, both losses to the Rangers.

“First thing I told the girls is you don’t measure a season by one game,” said Brunswick Coach Sam Farrell. “It was a hell of a season.

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“They just came out and beat us. There’s nothing I could draw up. You’ve just got to play. The things we didn’t want to do we were doing. And the things we didn’t want them to do happened because we didn’t do the things we wanted to do.”

DeWolfe, who for the second straight year won the Brud Stover Award as the outstanding player in the Class A South girls’ tournament, was in the middle of it all. She had 11 points in the first quarter, another eight in the second. She used her quickness to drive to the basket or pull up and hit her quick-release jumper.

“She carried us tonight,” said Flaherty. “She was very tough to stop. When she gets going like that she’s fun to watch.”

Not necessarily for the opponent. But Farrell certainly respects her.

“She’s the best player in the state and it’s not a question,” said Farrell. “Some years you can say, is it between her and … ? No, DeWolfe is the best player. The end.”

Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH


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