BANGOR – Morgan Drew helped make the Calais girls basketball team’s semifinal game against Central of Corinth Friday afternoon a pretty special one.

Drew came off the bench to score a game-high 16 points as the Blue Devils held off the Red Devils early, then pressed their way to a 64-36 Eastern Maine Class C victory and a berth in the regional final.

The win was special for two reasons: it’s the 200th victory in 10 years for coach Bob McShane’s squad, and makes for the Blue Devils’ 10th straight EM Class C final appearance.

When the Blue Devils (20-1) take to the Bangor Auditorium floor at 7:05 Saturday night they will be going for their seventh title and second straight in that span.

Calais will face the winner of Friday evening’s other semifinal between Penquis of Milo and Dexter.

Blue Devils coach Bob McShane said he liked what Drew was able to do in the game.

“She matched up well with Central, did really well with passing,” he said. “The shots weren’t falling but she was boxing out real well so we just left her in.”

Drew, who has been coming off the bench all season, said she was just happy to be on the floor. The 5-8 forward also had six rebounds.

“When I got there I felt like the middle was open a lot,” she said. “In the beginning I felt like our girls were little bit timid so when I get in there I just shoot and take it to the hole. And when I come in, we just get bigger.”

The Blue Devils were facing a much-improved Central squad (10-11) with mostly freshmen and sophomores in the lineup.

The Red Devils hung in early against Calais’ man-to-man defense, but once the Blue Devils made the switch to a zone press, Central was unable to hang on.

Part of the reason for the change in defense was foul trouble. Seven Blue Devils had at least one foul in the first quarter.

Calais was ahead 19-14 in the second quarter when the Blue Devils reeled off a 10-0 run (Calais forced five Central turnovers, three against the press, in that span).

“It was when they went into the zone, that’s what kind of kicked us,” Central coach Diane Rollins said. “We’d been practicing against the press all week. And their experience got us.”

Just before Calais’ run, Drew drew a charge on Central standout Katie Ahearn (12 points, 11 rebounds). It was her third foul and she left the game, leaving things fairly open inside. Drew scored twice without Ahearn on the floor.

“We were trying to get another foul on her,” Drew said. “I just took the charge, which is what we’re supposed to do.”

The Blue Devils popped off a 13-0 stretch in the third quarter and outscored the Red Devils 20-4 in the period. Central had 16 turnovers in the third quarter.

Calais also got scoring from Lanna Martin (15 points, eight rebounds, four steals) and Nanci Feck (11 points, three assists).

Central freshman Jenny Rollins scored 12 points and added 10 rebounds.

BLUE DEVILS 64, RED DEVILS 36

Central (10-11) Calais girls (20-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Collins 0 0 0 2 0 E. Smith 0 1

Davis 1 3 3 6 5 C. Martin 2 6

Rollins 4 15 4 6 12 Eagan 2 4 5

Brown 0 2 0 0 0 L. Martin 6 10 3 3 15

Daniel 1 4 2 5 4 N. Feck 4 9 11

Bell 1 2 1 2 3 O’Brien 0 4 0 2

Ahearn 4 8 4 7 12 D. Feck 1 2 2

Lyford 0 3 0 0 0 Welch 0 1 0

Griffiths 0 0 0 0 0 Frost 2 9 7

Parker 0 1 0 0 0 McGinley 0 0

Underhill 0 0 0 0 0 K. Smith 0 0

Mahan 0 0 0 0

Leon 0 0 1 1

Best 0 0 0 0

Drew 7 14 2 16

Totals 11 38 14 28 36 Totals 24 64 13 26 64

Central 11 20 24 36

Calais 14 33 53 64

3-pt. goals: Central (0-2): Rollins 0-2; Calais (3-13): Eagan 1-2, N. Feck 1-2, Frost 1-6, D. Feck 0-1, Welch 0-1, Drew 0-1