BANGOR – The Woodland High School girls basketball team opened defense of their state Class D championship in impressive fashion at the Bangor Auditorium Monday morning.

The Dragons received 21 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots from senior center Julia Knights and 20 points, 12 rebounds and six steals from senior forward Ashley Marble to upend Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook 83-42 in their Eastern Maine quarterfinal.

Sophomore forward Katie Smith contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds and Lauren Troiani chipped in with nine rebounds and three blocked shots as the 17-2 Dragons advanced to meet 16-3 Van Buren in Thursday’s 2:05 p.m. semifinal.

Woodland showcased its impressive athleticism on its full-court press as the Dragons forced 19 first-half turnovers en route to building a 46-19 intermission advantage.

Knights scored 19 first-half points.

Woodland also parlayed its superior height into a 54-24 rebounding edge for the game.

“We work a lot on our press,” said Marble.

“That’s our game. We got a lot of fast breaks. And our screens worked well underneath,” said Knights.

Southern Aroostook senior guard Kristi Booker said Woodland was the best team the Warriors faced this season.

“They had a lot of height and got a lot of easy baskets underneath. They also have a good press,” said Booker.

Southern Aroostook coach Jon Porter said “their press really bothered us” and added that in addition to creating turnovers, it also forced his Lady Warriors “to rush their shots.”

Woodland used a 25-4 spurt in the first half to break the game open.

Booker’s 14 points, Nicki Lyons’ nine points and three assists and Tiffany Hartin’s seven points and eight rebounds led Southern Aroostook, which wound up 14-6.

PATRIOTS 52, EAGLES 41

Limestone (15-5) Bangor Christian (11-9)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

A. Weath’head 0 2 0 0 0 Page 1 2

Beaulieu 0 0 0 0 0 Layton 0 1 0

Stackhouse 0 2 4 6 4 Mead 0 1 0

Bickford 5 6 0 0 10 Elliott 0 0 0

St. Pierre 2 7 0 0 6 Niles 3 11 6

Brooker 4 18 0 0 11 Jenkins 3 6 6

Hancock 0 0 0 0 0 Seymour 5 8 11

Mulherin 0 0 0 0 0 French 0 1 0

Michaud 2 6 1 2 5 Snow 0 1 0

Beaton 0 5 1 2 1 Reitsma 13 22 27

T. Weath’head 1 6 2 5 4

Totals 14 52 8 15 41 Totals 25 60 52

Limestone 8 24 34 41

Ban. Christian 14 27 43 52

3-pt. goals: Limestone (5-18): Brooker 3-10, St. Pierre 2-4, Beaton 0-4; Bangor Christian (0-4): Page 0-3, Niles 0-1.