There probably weren’t a lot of people who would have picked Marshwood High to beat Greely in the Class A South girls’ basketball championship game. But don’t tell the Hawks they couldn’t do it.

“We knew we had a chance,” said senior guard Angelina Bisson. “We just had to give everything we got.”

And they did. The Hawks ended Greely’s two-year reign as Class A state champ Friday night, holding off the Rangers 47-44 in the Class A South title game at the Cross Insurance Arena. Senior forward Casey Perry led the way with 15 points and 13 rebounds in a commanding performance.

“It’s pretty unbelievable right now,” said Perry, who played only three games as a junior because of a shoulder injury that required surgery. “We played really well as a team. We played really good defense. And it just feels unreal right now. But we still have one more game.”

The Hawks (18-3) will be in a state championship game for the first time since 1995, when they won the Class B title. Marshwood will face Hampden Academy, which lost the last two state championship games to Greely, in the Class A state game next Saturday at 1 p.m. at the CIA.

Marshwood scored the game’s first seven points against Greely and trailed only once, at 33-32 with 1:24 left in the third on a jumper by Brooke Obar. But Marshwood regained the lead 29 seconds later on two foul shots by Perry, then scored the first five points of the fourth quarter – a 3-pointer by Bisson and a driving basket by Kayla Goodwin – to regain control.

“We never had a run,” said Greely Coach Todd Flaherty. “They wouldn’t let us have a run. Credit to them. They were fantastic tonight. They stymied us.”

Marshwood’s defense, in which Perry, Goodwin and Lexi McGee play a triangle zone while guards Bisson and Rori Coomey play harassing man-to-man defense, pushed the Rangers out of their comfort zone. Obar and Camille Clement, Greely’s two best offensive players, combined for 15 points.

“We’ve been playing that defense for most of the year,” said Marshwood Coach Steve Freeman. “The last couple of games we could not have played it any better.”

“We just knew we had to be in their face and never let them get anything easy,” said Bisson.

Marshwood’s quick 7-0 start was also important.

“We thought we matched up well with them,” said Freeman. “Our girls were confident. We did not feel we were a big underdog. But still, the fact that they’re No.1, they’re Greely and have done it a couple of times, we thought the fast start was going to be critical for the mindset of the kids. And they executed it perfectly.

“It was huge, especially against  that team. You never know. They can explode any time offensively.”

Perry, who also had four steals and four assists, was presented the Brud Stover Award, given to the tournament’s outstanding player.

“She’s our best passer,  best rebounder and most important defender,” said Freeman.

Greely, which finished 19-2 and was playing in its sixth consecutive regional final, would pull within two three times in the fourth. But each time the Hawks, especially Perry, responded.

First, she scored on a swooping hook with 3:57 left for a 41-37 lead. Then she hit two foul shots with 33 seconds left to make it 45-41.

After Katie Fitzpatrick (19 points) hit a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left, Goodwin (10 points, 10 rebounds) hit one foul shot with 1.7 seconds left to seal it.

“This is crazy,” said Coomey, who made a big steal in the final 30 seconds. “But we’re not done.”

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