BANGOR – The only way this year’s postseason could get any better for Woodland’s Michelle Ferry is if the Dragons win their third straight state title because it’s going to be hard to top what the freshman forward did in Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class D championship game.

Ferry hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with less than two seconds remaining in regulation and No. 1 Woodland made eight free throws in overtime to successfully defend its regional championship with a 62-57 victory over No. 3 Lee Academy at the Bangor Auditorium.

The 16-5 Dragons will face Western Maine champion Waynflete of Portland for the state title Thursday at 7:35 p.m. at the Bangor Auditorium.

Kristin Hersom scored 15 points for 17-4 Lee and helped the Pandas tie a “D” tourney record for most team 3-pointers in a game. Hersom hit three long-range shots and Lee had seven overall.

Woodland coach Arnold Clark had called a timeout with 11.4 seconds left in regulation and put guard Phylicia Seavey into the game to look for a shot.

But the ball was passed around and wound up in Ferry’s hands.

“I stepped back; I just got it and shot it,” Ferry said. “I didn’t even know how much time was left and I just launched it. Everything changed.”

Woodland’s Katie Smith made four free throws in a 50-second span to nearly erase a five-point Panda lead, but Lee’s Samantha Cole scored off a pass from Brittany Mallett and Melissa Hanscom made a fast-break layup for a 52-47 edge.

Smith hit a jumper with 1:16 remaining, and after a series of fouls and missed free throws, Smith stole the ball with 11.4 seconds left. That’s when Clark called a timeout.

“I thought, ‘OK, Phylicia’s going in, she’s going to be shooting,'” Ferry said. “He told us to work it in, and if not, go for three, because that’s what we needed.”

The Dragons went ahead at the free-throw line in OT. Hanscom made a jump shot with about 32 seconds remaining to cut Woodland’s lead to 59-57, but Kaitlyn Leeman made a free throw and Megan Lord made two to seal it.

Smith had a game-high 20 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals, and kept the Lee defense honest by making two first-quarter 3-pointers. She also was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line – and did all that despite foul trouble. Smith had two fouls in the first quarter and eventually fouled out.

Leeman scored 14 points and hit four free throws in overtime. Lord scored eight points, including four in overtime.

Erica Brown was the defender shadowing Lee standout forward Shelby Pickering.

“I’ve never played taller people before, so it was different fronting her,” said Brown, who has been dealing with the flu. “I knew that when she gets to the baseline she can basically beat anyone she wants, so I tried to keep her away from the baseline.”

Pickering, who averages 22 points a game, finished with 15 rebounds but only seven points, a season low for the 5-foot-10 sophomore forward, according to Pandas coach Carrie Goodhue.

“I think she was frustrated … she missed some key layups,” Goodhue said. “She didn’t get the offensive rebounds she normally does. They did a good job boxing her out. We weren’t getting the normal looks to her, either. It was hard to get it in. We tried forcing it a couple of times.”

Ashlee Gifford and Hanscom each scored 12 points for Lee.

DRAGONS 62, PANDAS 57 (OT)

Lee (17-4) Woodland (16-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Mallett 2 12 0 3 4 Brown 2 8 4

J. Moors 0 0 0 0 0 Leeman 4 9 14

Pickering 3 12 1 4 7 Smith 6 13 20

Hanscom 5 12 0 1 12 Ferry 4 6 9

Hersom 5 16 2 3 15 Lord 3 5 8

Cole 3 4 1 2 7 Holmes 0 0 0 0

Ham 0 0 0 0 0 Troiani 3 8 1 7

Gifford 5 11 0 2 12 Seavey 0 0 0

Totals 23 67 4 15 57 22 49 13 23 62

Lee 17 27 42 52 57

Woodland 18 30 41 52 62

3-pt. goals: Lee (7-19): Hersom 3-8, Gifford 2-5, Hanscom 2-5, Mallett 0-1; Woodland (5-9): Leeman 2-2, Smith 2-3, Ferry 1-1, Brown 0-3