Cony size, speed topple Bangor Andrews, Rollins strong in post

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BANGOR – Cony High girls basketball teams are known for their speedy guards, full-court pressure, and a 3-point barrage.

This season, with two talented post players in the lineup, the Rams have had to adjust their focus and look inside more often.

Senior forward Jauna Andrews and freshman center Katie Rollins combined for 39 points, 30 rebounds, and five blocked shots Saturday morning, powering Cony of Augusta to a 76-44 Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinal victory over Bangor at the Bangor Auditorium.

Top-seeded Cony (19-1) meets No. 2 seed Skowhegan (19-1) in Thursday’s 7:10 p.m. semifinal. Bangor, a No. 4 seed, ended the season at 15-5.

Cony simply had too much size and savvy in the paint. The 6-foot Andrews and 6-2 Rollins teamed up to score 15 second-quarter points as the Capital City Rams extended a two-point lead to 18 at 42-24 by halftime.

“That is the biggest post game we’ve had,” conceded veteran Cony coach Paul Vachon. “It’s obviously opened up our game and it’s had to make me coach a little differently. We do have to remind ourselves to go inside.”

Some things haven’t changed, such as Cony’s affinity for man-to-man and 2-2-1 full-court pressure. The difference is, the big girls play at the top of the zone press.

“It’s good to be a forward and run the floor, because most teams don’t expect tall people to be able to run the floor very well,” Andrews said. “You’ve got to be able to run. That’s part of our game.”

Coach Tom Tennett’s Bangor squad stayed close for about 10 minutes. However, Cony warmed to Bangor’s full-court press and began scoring effectively in transition itself.

With Cony leading 22-17, Karen Sirois hit a 3-pointer that sparked a 11-0 scoring run. Ashley Underwood (15 points) then sandwiched a 3-pointer and a foul shot around Andrews’ steal and layup, and Andrews followed with a fast-break layup as Cony pushed the lead to 33-17 with 3:57 left in the first half.

“We wanted to play the same game that we had played all year long,” Tennett said of Bangor’s pressure game. “They don’t have anything you can exploit. They’re so big, and quick on the perimeter.”

Lindsay Frye added 10 points for Cony, which outrebounded Bangor 47-35.

Katherine Miller led Bangor with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Ashley Tower, Erinne Magee, and Marissa McLeod added seven points apiece.

“I was really pleased with the way the kids played,” Tennett said. “That’s a great, great [Cony] team. I told the kids there’s a good chance we lost to the eventual state champs.”

DRAGONS 75, LAKERS 46

Woodland (21-2) Rangeley (21-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Marble 10 19 6 10 27 A. Frost-Kolva 1 3

Brown 1 4 0 0 2 Frost 0 1 0

Kochendoerfer 0 0 0 0 0 L. O’Neill 0

Murphy 0 0 0 0 0 Ellis 0 2 0

Snowman 0 0 0 1 0 K. Drosdik 0 0

Leeman 2 5 1 2 7 D. O’Neill 0 0

Smith 5 7 0 0 10 S. Drosdik 5 14 3 6 13

Newman 0 0 0 0 0 Romero 3 16 9

Lord 1 1 2 2 4 LaPointe 0 0 0

St. Pierre 0 0 0 0 0 J. Frost-Kolva 0 0

Troiani 5 8 1 4 11 Grant 5 11 12 16

V. Knights 0 0 0 0 0 Schrader 1 5

J. Knights 6 11 0 0 13

Seavey 0 0 0 0 0

Vose 0 0 1 2 1

Totals 30 55 11 21 75 Totals 15 54 16 34 46

Woodland 23 36 58 75

Rangeley 11 23 32 46

3-pt. goals: Woodland (4-8): Leeman 2-2, J. Knights 1-1, Marble 1-4, Brown 0-1; Rangeley (0-1): A. Frost-Kolva 0-1