Windham’s Kayla Flanders passes the ball as Julia Colby of Oxford Hills defends in a Class AA North semifinal Thursday afternoon at Cross Insurance Arena. Oxford Hills reached its fifth straight regional championship game with a 54-31 win. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Four players scored in double figures as top-ranked Oxford Hills cruised into the Class AA North girls’ basketball final with a 54-31 win Thursday against No. 5 Windham at Cross Insurance Arena.
Cecelia Dietrich led Oxford Hills (19-1) with 13 points. Julia Colby and Cassidy Dumont each chipped in with 11, and Brooke Carson added 10 for the defending state champions, who will face second-seeded Portland at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Sarah Talon dropped in 17 points for Windham (12-8). The Eagles lost one of their top players, senior Hannah Talon, because of an apparent knee injury in the first quarter.
VALLEY 49, RANGELEY 47: Emily Collins hit big shot after big shot in the fourth quarter, including the tiebreaking jumper in the final minute that lifted the third-seeded Cavaliers (10-10) over the second-seeded Lakers (17-3) in a Class D South semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.
Collins scored nine of Valley’s 15 points in the fourth quarter, and each of her four field goals either pushed her team ahead or tied the game.
Valley’s Emily Collins, left, steals the ball from Isabelle Whittier of Rangeley during a Class D South semifinal Thursday at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal Buy this Photo
“She likes the spotlight, there’s no doubt about it,” Cavaliers Coach Paul Belanger said. “She plays for it.”
“If it wasn’t for her, we might have lost,” Valley freshman Brielle Smith said.
Collins, a sophomore, tied the score with a 3-pointer early in the fourth and later made a jumper that put the Cavaliers ahead 43-41. She broke another tie with about two minutes to play. After Rangeley’s Lauren Eastlack hit a pair of free throws to make it 47-47, Collins hit the winning midrange jumper.
Collins finished with 11 points.
Valley will face top-seeded Greenville at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Winnie LaRochelle paced Rangeley with 20 points.
GREENVILLE 52, SEACOAST CHRISTIAN 33: The top-seeded Lakers (18-2) got 22 points from Halle Pelletier and advanced to the Class D South final with a win over the fourth-seeded Guardians (12-7) in Augusta.
Morgan Noyes chipped in with nine points.
Ellie Leech scored nine points for Seacoast Christian.
DEER ISLE-STONINGTON 48, KATAHDIN 34: Kaylee Morey scored 13 points and Brittany Gray added 10 to lead the second-seeded Mariners (18-2) past the No. 3 Cougars (14-6) in a Class D North semifinal at Cross Insurance Center.
Katahdin’s Danielle Libby tallied 16 points.
SOUTHERN AROOSTOOK 68, SHEAD 39: The top-seeded Warriors (20-0) got 18 points from Madison Russell and rolled past the Tigers (13-7) in a Class D North semifinal at Cross Insurance Center.
Cami Shields added 12 points, and Kacy Daggett, Makaelyn Porter and Paige Vose each added 10 as the Warriors advanced to face second-seeded Deer Isle-Stonington at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Ryleigh Andrews paced Shead with 17 points.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Waynflete’s Diraige Dahia is defended by Kaeden Davis of Boothbay during a Class C South semifinal Thursday night at the Augusta Civic Center. Dahia scored 16 points to lead the Flyers to a 53-41 win. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal Buy this Photo
WAYNFLETE 53, BOOTHBAY 41: Second-seeded Waynflete (19-1) got 16 points from Diraige Dahia and huge contributions from several reserves in a Class C South semifinal win over the third-seeded Seahawks (15-5) at the Augusta Civic Center.
Aided by strong minutes from bench players Ilo Holdridge, Aidan Kieffer and Chris Saade, the Flyers advanced to face top-seeded Winthrop in Saturday’s regional final.
Waynflete led 14-13 after one quarter, then got a little breathing room in the second quarter with nine straight. After Boothbay closed within four, a putback from Saade and a pair of free throws from Kieffer made it 27-19 at halftime.
Both offenses bogged down in the third quarter, as the teams combined for 10 points. The Seahawks crept within five on a Nick Morley 3-pointer, but a three-point play by Holdridge allowed Waynflete to maintain a 32-24 edge heading into the fourth quarter.
Dahia scored eight points in the fourth to keep Waynflete in control.
Boothbay was paced by Hunter Crocker with 11 points.
WINTHROP 40, NORTH YARMOUTH ACADEMY 25: Top-seeded Winthrop (19-1) held NYA standout Te’Andre King scoreless for more than three quarters and rolled to a Class C South semifinal win in Augusta.
Ryan Baird led the Ramblers with 21 points and 15 rebounds.
The first quarter was a nightmare for NYA (15-5), which turned the ball over seven times and made just one shot. The Ramblers scored the first nine points before a putback from Bryce Bernier got the Panthers on the board. Ian Steele’s leaner made it 11-2 after one quarter.
Chris Hamblett scored all five of NYA’s second-quarter points as the Ramblers extended their advantage to 21-7.
Despite their struggles, the Panthers pulled within 26-16 after three quarters on a 3-pointer from Sam Sinabaldi, but Winthrop opened the fourth with a 12-2 run.
Hamblett finished with 11 points. King wound up with one point and 13 rebounds.
EASTON 50, DEER ISLE-STONINGTON 48: The sixth-seeded Bears (14-6) survived a second-half comeback by the seventh-seeded Mariners (13-7) in a Class D North semifinal at Cross Insurance Center.
Camden Michaud scored 16 points and Austin Carver had 13 for Easton.
Deer Isle-Stonington, which pulled into a tie with less than a minute remaining after trailing 29-18 at halftime, was paced by Myles Brown with 23 points.
MACHIAS 79, JONESPORT-BEALS 60: The fourth-seeded Bulldogs (11-8) went on an 18-3 run in the third quarter and upset the No. 1 Royals (17-1) in a Class D North semifinal.
Ethan Foss scored 23 points, and Kyle Anderson and Kashman Feeney added 16 apiece. Machias had a 34-4 advantage in made free throws.
Marc Crowley of Jonesport-Beals made eight 3-pointers for 24 points.
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