BRUNSWICK

With the Brunswick High School girls basketball team coming up on three potential tough games this week, the Dragons hosted two-win Skowhegan Saturday afternoon. Were the Dragons going to take the Indians lightly?

Think not as Brunswick coasted to a 59-26 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference win to improve to 10-5 and is slated to visit undefeated Lawrence tonight at 7 p.m., that is unless Mother Nature throws us another foot of snow today. On Tuesday, the Dragons entertain Oxford Hills and conclude the regular season on Thursday at home against “Battle of the Bridge” rival Mt. Ararat, also at home.

Against Skowhegan, Julia Champagne, who committed to become a St. Joseph’s College Monk on Friday, had a monster game, scoring 22 points, picking up 11 steals, dishing out six assists and grabbing seven rebounds. She said the Dragons prepared hard for Skowhegan, that is when the team was able to get into the gym after Tuesday’s blizzard and Friday’s snowstorm kept the students away from school most of the week.

“We always treat every team the same and knew that we had to come out hard so they couldn’t stick with us,” said Champagne. “I think we came out hard and stuck with it the second half. No matter what the score is, coach is always coaching. If we play sloppy, it might carry over into the next game. We wanted to keep it clean.”

“Everything is about executing offensively and defensively, looking at combinations, and we got Maddy Suhr (10 points) back tonight after being out for about a week,” said Brunswick coach Sam Farrell. “You are not coaching the scoreboard, but just looking to do what we can do to get better. We are not going to have a lot of specific game prep this week. We are looking to play hard and get better this week.”

Big lead

The Dragons didn’t allow Skowhegan to get into the game, jumping out to an 8-0 lead. Adrianna White scored all six of her points in the opening frame, with Suhr adding five and Champagne four for a 17-4 lead after a quarter. Each of Brunswick’s eight firstquarter field goals were assisted, with guards Gillian Doehring and Emily Black combining on six helpers.

Brunswick kept coming in the second, outscoring the Indians 20-8 for a 37-12 halftime lead. Suhr and Champagne each had 10 points at the break. The Dragons were 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the quarter, with Champagne and Sabrina Armstrong making four each. Armstrong came off the bench to score seven first-half points.

Things became a bit sloppy in the third quarter, with each team scoring just seven points. Skowhegan’s Tracey Swanson had five of her eight points in the frame, while Champagne added five more to her total.

“It is tough, a Saturday afternoon game and up by a bunch,” said Farrell. “It is tough to keep that motivation, so you’re trying to make sure the kids are having fun. We had a girl just called up to varsity (Brooke Barter), and she scored two points. That was fun to see.”

Champagne finished off her afternoon with back-to-back steals and easy lay-ups, while Armstrong completed a 10-point afternoon with her second trey.

Now comes a challenging week, something Champagne feels her Dragons are ready for.

“Lawrence is probably looking at us as a threat, and we lost to Oxford Hills by three last time (35-32 on Dec. 18), so we need to find a way to come with our offense and have a good week,” said Champagne.

Brunswick was 20-of-54 from the field (37 percent) and 15-of-22 at the charity stripe. Doehring had seven assists and six steals, and Black dished out four assists. White picked up five rebounds as the Dragons finished with a 30-26 edge on the glass.

Noah Stevens matched Swanson with eight points to lead the Indians. She also pulled down a seven rebounds, with Lindsey Warner adding eight boards and Cailee Manzer picking up six caroms and three steals. Skowhegan made just nine field goals (9-of-41, 21 percent).

Brunswick 59, Skowhegan 26

Saturday at Brunswick
Skowhegan—4 87 7—26
Brunswick — 17 20 7 15 — 59
Skowhegan — Eliza Bedard 1-0-2, Cailee Manzer 0-0-0,
Noah Stevens 3-2-8, Andrea Gurney 0-0-0, Tracey Swanson
2-4-8, Lindsey Warner 1-0-2, Julia Steeves 1-0-2, Annie
Worthen 1-0-3, Morgan Ames 0-1-1, Hannah Howard 0-0-0,
Taylor Tingley 0-0-0. Totals — 9-7-26.
Brunswick — Gillian Doehring 0-0-0, Madeline Suhr 4-0-10,
Adrianna White 3-0-6, Emily Black 1-0-2, Julia Champagne 7-
8-22, Sabrina Armstrong 2-4-10, Kolby Levesque 1-0-2,
Aidan Sachs 1-0-2, Heather Kinee 0-0-0, Alicia Armstrong 1-
0-2, Margaret Dickinson 0-1-1, Brooke Barter 0-2-2. Totals
— 20-15-59.
3-point field goals — (S) Worthen; (B) Suhr 2, S. Armstrong
2.
Records — Brunswick 10-5, Skowhegan 2-14.
Up next for the Dragons — Tonight at Lawrence, 7 p.m.