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BANGOR – For as few 3-pointers that fell for the Cony girls Saturday night, the Rams’ free throws seemed to always find the bottom of the net – when it counted most.
And a few free throws would be all the Rams of Augusta would need to hold off defending Class A state champion Nokomis of Newport 48-39 in the Eastern Maine Class A girls championship game at the Bangor Auditorium.
Junior guard Ashley Underwood went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter en route to 14 points to lead Cony (21-1) to its seventh EM title and its first state championship appearance since 1998.
And the Rams did it all without making a 3-point shot (they went 0 for 6), which Cony coach Paul Vachon said may be the first time since the 3-point shot was introduced into Maine high school basketball in 1988 that his team didn’t hit one. The Rams were also held to their lowest point total of the season.
Neither team shot well. Nokomis was 6 for 21 from 3-point range and 16 for 41 overall.
But the Rams made 14 of their 19 free throws, while the Warriors went to the line only twice.
“Definitely key,” Underwood said of her free-throw shooting. “… I was just breathing, constantly taking my time. I’m so glad they went in. It was the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life.”
Underwood was huge in the fourth, and not just from the free-throw line. Her jumper off a rebound with 5:17 left in the game gave Cony a 35-34 advantage. Later in the period, after Nokomis forward Sara Lowe scored off a Danielle Clark pass and Clark made a free throw to tie it at 37-37, Underwood drove inside for a basket as the Rams grabbed the lead for good.
Underwood made two free throws and, after Gillian Snow hit a jumper for the Warriors, she made two more with 56 seconds left.
Nokomis fouled the rest of the way and missed more 3-pointers (the Warriors were 0-for-6 in the fourth).
“There were a couple of possessions where we maybe rushed and that ended up costing us,” Nokomis coach Earl Anderson said. “They weren’t necessarily bad shots, but they weren’t the ideal shots that we would have liked and I thought that was a big turnaround.”
The shots may not have been falling, but the Rams were content as long as their defense was working.
And the defensive focus was 6-foot Nokomis forward Clark.
“I don’t know what to say about our shooting,” Underwood said. “They were playing excellent defense. We knew if we just kept our defense up because we were stopping Clark inside, that would definitely help our offense.”
Vachon had his team play a defense with Underwood face-guarding Clark, two post players on the blocks, and two other guards shadowing Michelle Murray and Lindsey Welch. That led to chances for other Nokomis players – Snow scored six of her eight in the first half – and the Rams switched to straight man in the second half with 6-foot-1 Jauna Andrews on Clark.
“I think Jauna Andrews [did] an outstanding job on Danielle in the second half,” Vachon said.
Clark was unable to get into a rhythm inside. She didn’t take a shot until she hit a jumper with 3.5 seconds left in the first quarter.
“We played really well,” Clark said. “We played hard, they played hard, it just ended up a few balls bounced their way. … They have height now but that should have been a bigger advantage for them than it was.”
The Rams went inside early as Andrews and 6-2 Katie Rollins combined for 20 points in the first half on layups and short jumpers.
Despite Cony’s height, the Warriors outrebounded the Rams 28-26, although Cony grabbed 10 rebounds in the fourth quarter to four for Nokomis. Andrews led the Rams with 11 rebounds and Clark had eight for Nokomis.
Cony had only seven turnovers.
The Warriors, who dealt with the death of teammate Mandi Foss in December and injuries to key players, finish 19-3. They graduate just one player, Ashley Mackenzie.
“I guess you could say we had our fair share of … adversity, but we’ve been blessed with a lot of things, too,” Anderson said.
RAMS 48, WARRIORS 39
Cony girls (21-1) Nokomis (19-3)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Underwood 3 11 8 8 14 Welch 2 12 6
Purington 0 0 0 2 0 Murray 2 6 6
Frye 0 3 3 4 3 Snow 4 7 0 8
Hem 0 0 0 0 0 Mackenzie 1 6 3
Beaudoin 0 0 0 0 0 Paradis 0 0 0
Rollins 5 10 2 2 12 Merrow 1 1 2
Allen 0 0 0 0 0 Perry 0 0 0
Dumont 1 1 0 0 2 Lowe 3 5 6
Sirois 0 4 1 3 1 Clark 3 4 8
Andrews 8 12 0 0 16
Totals 17 41 14 19 48 16 41 39
Cony 14 24 31 48
Nokomis 14 21 34 39
3-pt. goals: Cony (0-6): Underwood 0-3, Sirois 0-2, Frye 0-1; Nokomis (6-21): Welch 2-11, Murray 2-5, Mackenzie 1-4, Clark 1-1
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