BANGOR, Maine — Despite being behind by 11 points midway through the second quarter, the Washburn Beavers were able to rely on past experience, in combination with their relentless pressure defense, to earn a fifth consecutive Eastern Maine Class D title.
Washburn outscored the Fort Fairfield Tigers 34-9 over a 12-minute stretch, spanning from the four-minute mark of the second quarter until the end of the third, and came away with a 58-44 win Saturday morning at the Cross Insurance Center.
The victory improved the No. 1-ranked Beavers’ record to 21-0 and set up a meeting against Western Maine winner Rangeley for the state championship, to be played at the Cross Insurance Center at 1:05 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28. The Washburn girls will be gunning for a state-record fifth consecutive gold ball.
Fort Fairfield, the No. 2 seed, finished at 19-3, with all three losses coming against the Beavers.
In their previous meeting Jan. 28 at Fort Fairfield, the Tigers held an eight-point lead in the second half before the Beavers mounted a comeback. Washburn did not lack confidence when facing another deficit Saturday.
“We knew we could do it,” said Beaver senior Joan Overman, who finished with 23 points, four of which came during a 10-3 flurry to end the second quarter and nine in the 24-6 third-quarter blitz. “We came out in our zone press, and that seemed to shake them up a bit. Coach told us to keep our heads, play hard defense and crash the boards.”
Washburn trailed 27-23 at intermission but extended its defense with a zone trap, which forced seven Tiger turnovers in the third quarter, which the Beavers often converted into points. Washburn scored 11 of the first 13 points of the quarter and the final 14 as well. Washburn’s Emmy Churchill and Mackenzie Worcester had six points each during the third quarter, which saw their team take a 47-33 advantage.
“Our traps have always been our go-to defense, and that definitely worked well and helped get us into our running game,” Worcester said.
Fort Fairfield scored six in a row to open the fourth on a transition layup, two free throws by Pelkey and a Teresa Maynard putback, but Washburn went 7-for-10 from the foul line over the final 4:09 to stretch it back out.
An Emmy Churchill 3-pointer from the corner opened the scoring, but Fort Fairfield reeled off a 9-2 run over 41⁄2 minutes, capped by a Taylor Churchill 3-pointer from the wing with 2:58 remaining in the first period. The lead grew to 24-13, following successful jumpers by Chelsey Pelkey on back-to-back possessions in the middle of the second quarter, but that was the point when the Beavers seized the momentum and went on their run.
“We shot the ball well in that first half, hitting some (3-pointers), which we really haven’t done a lot of, and we also got the ball inside,” Tiger coach Larry Gardner said.
“We really don’t see teams during the regular season that can press like Washburn, and the pressure of the moment seemed to bother us,” he added.
Overman added four rebounds and three steals for the Beavers, while Worcester — who was the focal point of a box-and-one defense the Tigers employed throughout the game — had 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
“We’ve been working on that defense since the first time we saw them this season, so we were comfortable with it,” Worcester said. “You saw it today. We were pretty confident out there.”
“She is a great leader and keeps our heads together,” Overman said, noting Worcester’s ability to stay composed. “When things get a little shaky, she can calm us all down.”
Emmy Churchill had 15 points and five rebounds for the Beavers.
The Tigers were led by Pelkey’s 14 points. She also had four rebounds, three assists and four steals. Senior Meg Jellison finished her career with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Teresa Maynard grabbed a team-high 15 rebounds and Taylor Churchill contributed eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
“Hats off to Washburn,” Gardner said. “They improved a lot to get here, and they’ve worked hard themselves. We had three good battles with them, and I’m proud of how we battled.”
“I wasn’t sure if were going to get here in the beginning of the season to be honest, but it’s an incredible feeling,” Worcester said.
