AUGUSTA—On a night when its offense went missing, North Yarmouth Academy’s top-ranked girls’ basketball team turned to the other elements of its game to earn a playoff-opening victory Tuesday evening at the Augusta Civic Center.

Facing eighth-ranked Carrabec, the Panthers didn’t even hit the 40-point mark, but they smothered the Cobras throughout and managed to advance in a Class C South quarterfinal.

NYA got off to a sluggish start, going over six minutes without a point in one stretch, but it still managed to lead, 10-5, at the end of the first quarter.

Thanks to their defense and dominance on the offensive glass, the Panthers got a little separation in the second period and took an 18-7 advantage to the break.

Carrabec got as close as five points, 18-13, midway through the third quarter, but NYA got the final six points to take a 24-13 lead to the fourth period.

And there, the Panthers were never seriously threatened and went on to a 37-19 victory.

Senior Graca Bila led a balanced attack with 10 points, as NYA improved to 18-1, ended Carrabec’s season at 11-9 and advanced to the semifinals to meet No. 4 Madison (16-3) Thursday at 3:30 p.m., in Augusta.

“I’m glad the 1-vs.-8 game is over,” said Panthers coach Tom Robinson. “We were the last game played (in the quarterfinals) and I’m watching everyone else get upset. There have been some huge ones and that makes the tournament great.”

Feeling at home

It’s located 46 miles from campus, but NYA has grown to feel quite at home at the Augusta Civic Center, as Tuesday’s contest was its seventh there in the past two-plus years.

The Panthers fell just short in the past two regional finals, including an overtime loss to Old Orchard Beach last winter, but NYA came out and surprised many by winning 17 of 18 games this season (see sidebar for links to previous stories).

Carrabec, meanwhile, was 4-5 at the midway point, then won six of eight games in one stretch before downing No. 9 Searsport in the preliminary round last week, 46-34.

The Panthers twice beat the Cobras this season, 76-31 Dec. 16 on the road and 55-31 at home Feb. 1.

NYA won the lone prior playoff meeting, 42-28, two years ago in the semifinals.

Tuesday proved to be more of the same, but not without a struggle.

The Panthers’ first possession went according to plan, as sophomore Ava Wilkinson got the ball to junior Athena Gee in the corner, who drained a 3 15 seconds in, but NYA then went cold.

Carrabec got on the board with 3:56 left in the opening stanza, as senior Molly Hay made two free throws, but junior Ella Giguere set up Wilkinson for a layup to snap a 6 minute, 2 second scoring drought.

Late in the frame, Hay got a leaner to roll in, but sophomore Anaya Roundy countered with a 3-ball, then sophomore Karen Baker hit one of two free throws for the Cobras before junior Emily Robbins set up Giguere for a reverse layup to make it 10-5 after one period.

The Panthers added to their lead in the second quarter.

Giguere got things started with a layup after a steal and after Hay made a pretty spinner off the glass, Bila set up Robbins for a layup, Roundy hit a jumper and Bila went coast-to-coast for a layup for an 18-7 halftime lead.

NYA forced 17 first half turnovers and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, but hadn’t put Carrabec away.

It didn’t happen in the third quarter either.

The Cobras opened up the second half scoring when sophomore Anna Canales made a layup, snapping a 7 minute, 50 second scoring drought. Junior Aiyanna Tibbetts then took a pass from Baker on the fastbreak and made a layup.

With 4:11 left in the frame, Baker found Tibbetts for a jumper and Carrabec was within five, 18-13, but that would be their highwater mark.

With 3:42 to go, Wilkinson, who had just returned to action with three fouls, took a pass from Robbins and made a layup to snap a 7:02 drought.

Ten seconds later, Wilkinson picked up her fourth foul and had to sit again.

The Panthers still closed the period strong, as Giguere scored on a putback, then Bila took a pass from Roundy in transition and made a layup for a 24-13 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.

There, NYA finished it off.

Roundy started the frame with a layup. After Hay and freshman Ava Welch each made a free throw, Canales drove for a layup to cut the deficit to nine, but Bila drove, spun and laid the ball home, then Giguere got an offensive rebound and set up Gee for a dagger 3, making the score 31-17 with 4:22 remaining.

Hay countered with another pretty spinner off the glass, but that would be the Cobras’ final basket of the season.

Down the stretch, Bila sank a foul shot, Giguere set up Gee for a layup, Bila made a free throw, then a Bila layup accounted for the 37-19 final score.

“We gave each other energy,” Bila said. “We calmed down when we needed to on offense. We expected more offense, but if our shooting isn’t there, we don’t hang our heads and we get back on defense.”

“We got the job done,” said Giguere. “There’s definitely pressure on us, but we wanted to come up here and relax and just focus on our play. The main thing was we worked hard on defense. We came in knowing we had to really focus on boxing out and hustling. We knew our defense would transition to good offense.”

“It’s not unusual for us to struggle in the offensive end,” Robinson added. “It wasn’t a game where we had a lot of opportunities. We moved the ball well against the pressure. We played really good defense. I was impressed the way we played defense and rebounded. Graca is always quick to the ball. Emily Robbins was getting tips. Anaya got some defensive tips.”

Bila finished with a game-high 10 points, to go with eight rebounds, eight steals and two assists.

Gee added eight points and seven rebounds.

Roundy was key off the bench, scoring seven points and also producing five rebounds and two steals.

Giguere had six points, as well as nine rebounds, six steals, four assists, three blocked shots and a strong defensive effort on Hay.

“Effort is what comes naturally for me,” said Giguere. “Growing up, my Dad has always drilled effort, effort, effort into me. I wasn’t always the strongest player on offense, but I know I can definitely help a team on defense. That’s what I focus on. It helped knowing (Carrabec). We knew who their strong players are. We knew Hay is really good and has strong moves.”

“Ella always gives maximum effort,” Bila said. “Even when she didn’t as much playing time the past couple years, she always goes for the ball. I love playing with a player like that.”

“Ella did a great job covering (Hay) pretty much man-to-man the whole game,” added Robinson. “She’s got a good sports IQ. She sees the floor, knows her positioning. She’s not overly quick, but she beats the other player to the spot.”

Wilkinson had four points and four rebounds in her limited time and Robbins wound up with two points, as well as nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.

NYA enjoyed a big edge on the glass (48-32) and overcame 19 turnovers and 2-of-8 foul shooting.

Carrabec was paced by Hay, who had nine points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Canales (five rebounds, two steals) and Tibbetts (seven rebounds, four steals) both finished with four points, while Baker and Welch had one apiece.

The Cobras made 5-of-10 free throws, but were doomed by 34 turnovers, 17 in each half.

Next step

NYA didn’t face Madison (which handled No. 12 Monmouth Academy in its quarterfinal) this winter. The Panthers won the lone prior playoff meeting, 72-26, last year in the quarterfinals.

NYA expects a test Thursday, but won’t be intimidated.

“We’re really excited to play a team we haven’t played before,” Giguere said. “We’re ready for the new challenge.”

“We just need to keep supporting each other and having fun,” Bila said. “We see playoffs as a whole new season. We don’t pay attention to the seeds at all.  We want to win really, really bad. I think we’re on the right track.”

“They’ll be in our face and make it uncomfortable to shoot,” Robinson added. “They’re fast and they play hard. It’s a short turnaround, we’re not very deep and the girls played a lot of minutes tonight. We’ll see what happens.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. For game updates and links to game stories, follow him on Threads: @foresports2023

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