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BANGOR – Three earlier losses to Maranacook of Readfield this season failed to dismay the Winslow girls basketball team as it prepared to meet the Black Bears yet again Wednesday, this time in an Eastern Maine Class B semifinal.
“The other three times were all close games, so we knew we were just as good,” said Black Raiders guard Brittany Morin, “and this was the one that counted so today was do or die for us.”
No. 3 Winslow never trailed in the game that counted, using tenacious defense and rebounding strength to edge No. 2 Maranacook 41-36 at the Bangor Auditorium.
Winslow (17-3) will play No. 5 Mount Desert Island (15-5) for the EM title at 2:05 p.m. Saturday.
Winslow’s defense featured senior guard Amanda Byrne against three-time KVAC Class B player of the year Toby Martin and 6-foot junior Ashley Carter matched against talented Maranacook sophomore Kristi Violette.
“We had a lot of help, and we played a little zone, too, and I think that shocked them because we don’t play much zone,” said Byrne.
Martin managed 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field. Violette added eight points and 10 rebounds, but had just one field goal.
“I think today we just did a better job of looking to defend the kids that we know are their scorers, and making the kids who haven’t necessarily taken that role become more their scorers,” said Winslow coach Jim Richards.
Winslow finished with a 26-25 rebounding edge, and also played defense with offense by taking its time with the ball in hand while seeking out high-percentage shots.
“We tried to be very patient on offense,” said Richards. “We didn’t want them to get their transition game going.”
Byrne and Morin led Winslow with eight points each, while 6-2 junior center Stephanie Bossie had seven points and 10 rebounds.
The Black Raiders jumped out to an 8-2 lead as Bossie had four points and four rebounds in the game’s first five minutes.
Winslow maintained leads of 10-6 after the first quarter and 19-14 at halftime, with Byrne shutting out Martin until the 5-3 Maranacook senior hit a 23-foot 3-pointer with 4:35 left in the third quarter.
But every time the Black Bears made a run, Winslow had an offensive response. Maranacook got as close as 25-23 late in the third period, but Amanda Lapointe hit a jumper and Byrne scored from 3-point land as the Black Raiders took a 30-26 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Black Bears later had the ball down by three at 33-30, but Martin missed a 3-pointer and Winslow countered with a fast-break layup by Lin Richards and a three-point play by Byrne to extend the margin to 38-30 with 3:46 left.
“Nobody likes to lose,” said Maranacook coach Mike Packard. “When you come up to Bangor you either go home with a championship or you go home like this, and this is never fun.”
BLACK RAIDERS 41, BLACK BEARS 36
Winslow (17-3) Maranacook (18-2)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Byrne 3 5 1 1 8 Martin 3 14 10
L. Richards 3 4 0 1 6 Violette 1 8
Morin 2 7 4 7 8 Pullen 1 2 2
Peters 0 0 0 0 0 Mrazik 3 6 7
Lapointe 2 4 0 0 4 Bean 3 11 7
Carter 3 8 0 0 6 Mason 1 2 2
Bossie 3 5 1 2 7 Kelley 0 1 0
E. Richards 0 1 0 0 0
Boutin 1 3 0 0 2
Totals 17 37 6 11 41 12 44 10 19 36
Winslow 10 19 30 41
Maranacook 6 14 26 36
3-pt. goals – Winslow (1-6): Byrne 1-2, Carter 0-1, E. Richards 0-1, Boutin 0-1, Morin 0-1; Maranacook (2-9): Bean 1-3, Martin 1-6
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