Bill Goodman had a halftime message for Maddie Fitzpatrick. A trip to the Class AA North final was at stake, and the Cheverus girls’ basketball coach wanted his star senior to go into attack mode.

“I felt she was deferring (in) the first half,” Goodman said. “It was time for her to take over a little bit.”

Fitzpatrick obliged, scoring 14 of her 20 points in the second half and 10 in the fourth quarter as No. 1 Cheverus defeated No. 4 Lewiston, 57-35, in the Class AA North semifinals Wednesday at Cross Insurance Arena.

“He pulled me aside and just said to be more aggressive,” said Fitzpatrick, who also totaled 17 rebounds. “I just tried to attack and get some fouls. I don’t know, I just listened to Coach Goodman. He’s usually right.”

Megan Dearborn (12 points), Rachel LaSalle (10 points) and Ruth Boles (eight points, 11 rebounds) also delivered for the Stags (19-0), who led by only five with two minutes to go in the third quarter but outscored the Blue Devils 22-5 over the final 10 minutes.

Lewiston (10-10) got 13 points apiece from Natalie Beaudoin and Ellie Legare.

The win puts Cheverus back in the regional final against defending state champion Oxford Hills for the third straight year. The Stags won on their way to a state title in 2022, but the Vikings prevailed in double overtime last season.

“We’re just all grateful that we are able to practice tomorrow, and we’re going to have one more game,” Fitzpatrick said. “I don’t think we’re putting too much pressure on it.”

A LaSalle 3-pointer put Cheverus up 38-30 after three quarters, and Fitzpatrick took over from there. She had a lefty finish and then two free throws following a pair of offensive rebounds, and drove for another basket to make it 44-33.

After LaSalle hit another 3 and Boles had a putback, Fitzpatrick sank two more free throws following another drive to the hoop, pushing the lead to 18.

“Maddie is unbelievable in all aspects of the game,” Dearborn said. “(She’s) the best leader we can have.”

The finish was a change from the first half, when Cheverus’s offense struggled, missing chance after chance at the basket. The Blue Devils kept pace, with Beaudoin scoring 13 points as the teams went into halftime with Cheverus holding a 24-19 lead.

“Between nerves and a long layoff, no excuses, but we were out of sync,” said Goodman, whose team had played only one game since Feb. 2. “I knew it would be a slow start, but I just asked the girls to keep working hard for 32 minutes.”

Amid the struggles, the Stags got a spark from Dearborn, who hit back-to-back 3s late in the first, and then two more early in the third to help Cheverus open a 30-21 lead.

“I focused a lot on form shooting this morning, making sure that I was ready for this,” Dearborn said. “This team’s big on energy. Anything that we can do to kind of keep things going (is important).”

Cheverus’s offense found its stride later, and the defense held Beaudoin scoreless in the second half.

“We weren’t focused enough in the first half,” Fitzpatrick said. “We just had to know where she was. We were more aware on defense, and that comes from talking and listening to Coach.”

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