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BANGOR – Getting back to the Class A state championship game has driven the Cony of Augusta girls basketball team all season.
And with star center Katie Rollins at the wheel, the Rams did just that in Monday night’s Eastern Maine Class A final against Skowhegan.
Rollins poured in 27 points, including 11 in the third quarter as Cony gained firm control of what had been a relatively close game en route to a 65-48 triumph over the Indians. It was the Rams’ ninth Eastern Maine championship, second in a row and third since 2002.
“Katie was on a mission tonight,” Skowhegan coach Heath Cowan said. “She scored on first touches all night long. She put the ball in the basket. She’s a great player.”
With their berth in Saturday’s 7 p.m. state title game secure, the Rams will now prepare to face Western Maine winner McAuley of Portland. The Lions beat Sanford 45-29 in Monday’s WM regional final.
The state final, which will also be at the Bangor Auditorium, will be a rematch of the 2002 title game in which McAuley beat Cony 67-61.
“I’m not going out like we did last year,” said Cony senior point guard Briiana Rende, who had a stellar all-around effort with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
The Rams defeated the Indians twice in the regular season, but Skowhegan won the non-countable Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A title contest between the two teams.
The Indians shot well in that game, and the Rams knew they had to limit Skowhegan from the perimeter.
Skowhegan finished with 3-for-19 shooting from 3-point range. Rende guarded Skowhegan standout Nicole Paradis, who was 0-for-9 from the floor.
“We wanted to look for the great shots and we knew if we could stop Skowhegan from the outside we’d have a pretty good chance,” Rollins said.
Cony’s Amanda Mason guarded Skowhegan’s Bethany Sevey.
While defense was huge, things wouldn’t have worked without Rollins’ effort. She went 12-for-17 from the floor and 5-for-6 in the third quarter – a key effort as the Indians (18-3) had managed to cut into Cony’s lead at the end of the second quarter.
The lead was six points with 3:54 left in the third, but Rollins took over from there. She did all the scoring in a 7-0 run, included a jump shot after which Skowhegan forward Megan Franklin was issued a technical foul for falling to the floor without being touched.
Rollins made one of the two free-throws, and after Cony got the ball back she scored off a pass from freshman Rachael Mack.
That gave the Rams a 41-28 lead. Moments later Rende beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 48-34 lead.
“We were a lot more patient than we usually are,” Rende said. “We waited for good shots to come and we just worked hard to get open.”
Rende went 5-for-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Cassie Cooper chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds. Mack added nine points.
Franklin led the Indians with 17 points and seven rebounds. and Sevey had 12. Paradis had five assists.
RAMS 65, INDIANS 48
Skowhegan (18-3) Cony (21-0)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Saydjari 0 1 0 0 0 Mason 0 4 1
Paradis 0 9 0 0 0 B. Rende 4 13 17
Sevey 4 10 1 2 12 Tyler 0 0 0
Franklin 6 11 4 4 17 Albert 0 0 0
LaGross 1 2 2 2 4 Doak 0 0 0
Abbott 1 3 0 0 2 Nimon 0 4 0
Miller 1 6 2 2 4 Cooper 4 10 11
Veinotte 0 0 0 0 0 Cloutier 0 0
Smith 3 8 1 4 7 Mack 4 6 9
Evans 0 0 0 0 0 Henderson 0 0
Pinkham 1 1 0 0 2 Pelkey 0 0 0
Rollins 12 17 3 27
Totals 17 51 10 14 48 24 47 16 27 65
Skowhegan 11 23 34 48
Cony 16 28 48 65
3-pt. goals – Skowhegan (3-19): Sevey 3-7, Abbott 0-1, Miller 0-3, Franklin 1-3, Paradis 0-5; Cony (1-9): B. Rende 1-1, Cooper 0-2, Mason 0-3, Nimon 0-3
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