Martin, Calais roll by Searsport Devils advance to Friday semi

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BANGOR – The No. 1 Calais girls basketball team withstood a second-quarter challenge from No. 9 Searsport to post a 63-39 victory in an Eastern Maine Class C tournament quarterfinal Tuesday evening at the Bangor Auditorium.

Playing without forward Morgan Drew, who is no longer with the 18-1 Blue Devils, junior Lanna Martin stepped in to rack up 21 points, 14 rebounds, seven steals and three blocks.

Calais coach Bob McShane declined to comment on why Drew was no longer with the team. Drew had been averaging 17 points per game when she injured her ankle just after the regular season ended. She was not on the bench Tuesday.

The Blue Devils will play the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between No. 4 Stearns of Millinocket and No. 5 Lee Academy in a semifinal Friday at 7:05 p.m..

Early in the game Searsport (17-4) fought through Calais’ full-court press. The Vikings lobbed long passes over the press, scored outside and inside, and stayed close with the Blue Devils.

Searsport never led, but two long-distance shots from Andrea Blanchard (17 points, eight rebounds) tied the game at 17-17 with 3:26 left in the second quarter. Martin answered with a free throw and a basket off a rebound, but a Jessica Plourde putback for Searsport made it a one-point game.

Martin and Nanci Feck combined for six unanswered Calais points to close the first half with a 26-19 lead. The Devils rolled from there, converting backcourt steals and forcing turnovers (30 for the Vikings).

“We played with them for a half,” Searsport coach Herman Paul said. “… I thought [the turning point] was our mental breakdown on the press.”

The Blue Devils came out in a zone, which was effective against the taller Vikes. Searsport’s 5-foot-10 center Jessica Larrabee had seven rebounds but scored four points.

“Ever since [a regular-season loss to taller Mattanawcook of Lincoln] we’ve been working on it,” said Calais guard Katie Frost, who had 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. “It helps us match up better.”

Lanna Martin’s sister Crystal Martin added 11 points.

Blue Devils 63, Vikings 39

Searsport (17-4) Calais (18-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Gracie 0 4 0 0 0 C. Martin 4 13 11

Webster 0 0 0 0 0 Ludington 0 0 0

Smith 2 10 0 0 4 Frost 6 15 2 16

Hancock 0 0 0 0 0 L. Martin 8 12 21

Larrabee 2 6 0 1 4 Feck 3 12 6

Seekins `0 1 0 0 0 Redding 3 6 3 10 9

Herrick 1 1 0 0 2 Welch 0 0 0 0

Plourde 4 9 0 1 8 Price 0 0 0 0

Curtis 0 1 0 0 0 Smith 0 0 0 0

Blanchard 8 18 0 0 17 Best 0 0 0

Carroll 1 2 0 0 2

Vasiliauskas 0 3 2 2 2

Totals 18 55 2 4 39 24 58 13 26 63

Searsport 10 19 29 39

Calais 15 26 45 63

3-pt. goals: Searsport (1-4): Blanchard 1-3, Curtis 0-1; Calais (2-10): Frost 2-6, C. Martin 0-1, L. Martin 0-1, Feck 0-1, Redding 0-1