BANGOR – MDI senior Bracey Barker fought through a sprained left ankle, and the No. 1 Trojans fought through a Rockland defense designed to stop their star guard in an Eastern Maine Class B semifinal Wednesday night.

Barker scored 15 points, but it was MDI’s so-called role players who made the difference early in a 59-34 victory over the No. 5 Tigers at the Bangor Auditorium.

The win boosted the 18-1 Trojans, who are the two-time defending Class B state champions, into their third straight Eastern Maine final. MDI will face No. 3 Maranacook of Readfield Saturday at 2:05 p.m.

Barker’s 15 points were fine, but with Rockland starting off in a matchup zone with defenders on Barker and guards Jessica Norwood and Shelley Gott, the Trojans needed offense from other sources.

Leah Joy, who usually makes her mark on defense, scored 10 points, including a 6-for-7 effort from the free-throw line. Kara Horton added 12 points, with eight coming in the first quarter. Jenna Gordius, the first player off the bench, scored eight.

“I think even though they were playing a [matchup zone] on us we kept our heads up and kept moving the ball around to other players,” said Gott, who contributed 12 points and seven rebounds. “Kara really stepped up in the first quarter and that really helped us when we were trying to get open.”

Although Rockland’s Caitlin Hynes scored the first basket of the game, the Trojans took a quick 7-3 lead thanks to a Horton 3-pointer, a Barker put-back, and two Joy free throws.

After Kasey Felt hit a jumper for Rockland, Horton drained another 3-pointer and Barker made a jumper for a 12-4 edge. Later in the quarter Gordius put in a fast-break layup, and Horton scored off a pass from Gordius for a 16-7 advantage.

The Trojans outscored the Tigers 17-8 in the second quarter.

The UMaine-bound Barker, who was hurt during practice Monday, had 16 rebounds (six offensive) to help MDI gain a 37-21 rebounding advantage. She also had three blocks.

The Tigers held the Trojans to 2-for-14 shooting from 3-point range. MDI had set the tourney record for most 3-pointers in a game (nine) in the quarterfinals.

“We didn’t have a lot of open shots and when we did we tried to rush them,” Gott said. “I think the defense kind of shook up some people a little bit.”

Rockland had 15 turnovers, a relatively light number considering that most teams have trouble with MDI’s zone press.

“I really think there are a lot of small victories we had that we can feel good about,” Rockland coach Karen Bickmore said. “Some of the turnovers we had in the beginning were nerves. It wasn’t as much forced by the defense. I was really pleased to see us be able to handle that.”

Annie Pennell and Hynes each scored eight points for Rockland. Pennell had a team-high seven rebounds.

TROJANS 59, TIGERS 34

Rockland (13-7) MDI (19-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Pennell 3 10 2 2 8 Stanley 0 1 0

Grant 2 7 2 3 7 Gordius 3 6 8

Hurley 2 8 0 0 4 McGarr 0 2 0

Felt 2 6 0 0 5 Joy 2 5 6 10

Oliver 0 0 0 0 0 Horton 4 8 12

J. Clark 0 1 0 1 0 Gott 4 8 12

Dunton 1 1 0 0 2 Barker 6 17 15

N. Clark 0 0 0 0 0 Young 1 2 2

Barnes 0 2 0 0 0 Christie 0 0

Hynes 4 10 0 1 8 Norwood 0 6 0

Banks 0 0 0 0

Totals 14 45 4 7 34 20 55 17 21 59

Rockland 7 15 22 34

MDI 16 33 45 59

3-pt. goals ? Rockland (2-7): Grant 1-2, Felt 1-3, Hurley 0-1, Hynes 0-1; MDI (2-14): Horton 2-5, Gott 0-3, Young 0-1, Norwood 0-5