BANGOR – Erskine Academy made the most of its first trip to the postseason tournament in seven years, while Waterville opened defense of its 2007 state and regional championships.

The No. 4 Eagles of South China and No. 1 Panthers each won Eastern Maine Class B girls basketball quarterfinal games Saturday at the Bangor Auditorium.

Erskine edged No. 5 Camden Hills of Rockport 53-49 in the first game while Waterville rolled over No. 9 Old Town 63-37 in the second game.

The Eagles and the Panthers will meet in a Wednesday semifinal at 8:35 p.m.

In the first game, Erika Malley scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Eagles won their first quarterfinal since 2001, which was also the last time they’d been to the tournament.

Ashley Richardson added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Erskine, which held a 44-35 third- quarter lead but had to fend off a charge from the Windjammers.

“We had to dig deep and work,” Richardson said.

Allie Parent of Camden Hills, who had a game-high 25 points, hit two free throws with 1:05 left to cut Erskine’s lead to 50-47, but three more Eagle free throws down the stretch helped Erskine hold on.

“I thought when we were down three and had the ball we had a chance … unfortunately we didn’t even get a shot,” Camden Hills coach Jay Carlsen said.

Camden Hills had 17 turnovers, including two in a row on its first two possessions of the fourth quarter, and went 2-for-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth.

“Our defense put a lot of pressure on them, worked [hard] and pressured their guards,” Richardson said. “They couldn’t get it inside, which helped a lot. We tried to mix up defenses to keep them off balance.”

Free-throw shooting was the difference. The ‘Jammers outscored the Eagles 43-39 from the field, but Camden Hills went 6 for 16 from the line while Erskine was 14 for 23.

“I think that was the [difference],” Carlsen said. “… For sure [turnovers] hurt, especially when you’re behind in a game. You can’t turn the ball over and limit the amount of chances you have to score.”

Malley scored 12 points in the first half to help the Eagles take a 26-23 lead at halftime.

In the second game, the Panthers jumped all over the Coyotes early. Waterville took advantage of Old Town’s zone defense in the first 2:30, taking an 8-0 lead as Jennifer Nale drained two 3-pointers and 2007 tourney MVP Morgan Frame put in the first two of her game-high 24 points.

The Panthers, who won their 41st straight game, also forced eight turnovers in the first quarter.

“We just hit a couple [3-pointers] and they [came] right out of [the zone], which made us work our motion and get it inside, which worked really well,” Frame said. “And we had really good on-the-ball defense, which helped us at the beginning get the lead.”

Frame had 17 rebounds, although Old Town had a 36-32 rebounding edge. Four different Coyotes had five boards apiece.

“We tried to keep the ball out of [Frame’s] hands and then if she got it, try to keep her off the glass, give her one shot and don’t let her get the rebound,” Old Town coach Alan Brownewell said.

The Panthers eventually took a 24-8 lead in the second quarter. The Coyotes cut it to 10 points later in the period, but Waterville closed out the half with a 7-0 run.

Old Town made just four of its 21 field-goal attempts in the first half. Sarah Wilcox and Jenna King each scored seven points to lead Old Town while Nale added 12 for Waterville.

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

990-8193

EAGLES 53, WINDJAMMERS 49

Camden Hills (14-6) Erskine (16-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Duke 1 8 0 0 2 Theberge 0 0 0

Holmes 0 1 0 0 0 St.Amand 1 2

LaBree 0 2 0 1 0 Gagne 0 3 0

Nason 0 1 0 0 0 Malley 7 14 23

Fetterman 2 5 2 2 6 Potter 0 0 0

Waldron 0 0 0 0 0 Clark 0 0 0

Jeschke 0 0 0 0 0 Peaslee 2 7 6

Parent 11 19 4 8 27 Beldon 3 8 9

Tedford 5 10 0 3 10 Hudson 0 2 0

Smeaton 2 4 0 2 4 Richardsn 6 14 1 5 13

Totals 21 50 6 16 49 Totals 19 52 14 29 53

Camden Hills 12 23 35 49

Erskine 15 26 44 53

3-pt. goals – Camden Hills (1-4): Parent 1-2, Duke 0-1, Tedford 0-1; Erskine (1-12): Malley 1-3, Peaslee 0-1, St. Amand 0-2, Gagne 0-3, Beldon 0-3

PANTHERS 63, COYOTES 37

Old Town (12-8) Waterville (19-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

St. Louis 1 5 0 4 2 Tuttle 0 0 0

Guay 1 3 0 0 2 Sta.Whttn 0 1 0

Randall 2 9 1 5 5 Gardiner 3 7

Wilcox 1 7 5 5 7 Pellerin 0 1

Goodwin 2 2 0 0 6 Ste.Whttn 0 1

Brown 0 0 0 0 0 T. Frame 1 2

King 1 14 5 6 7 Nale 5 11 0 12

Barry 0 0 0 0 0 Hart 1 5 2

Smart 2 3 0 0 6 Rousseau 1 2

Taylor 0 1 2 2 2 Smith 0 2 0

Cossar 0 0 0 0 0 Reynolds 0 0

Given 3 10 1 7

Bishop 2 3 1 5

M. Frame 9 15 24

Totals 10 44 13 22 37 Totals 25 55 10 21 63

Old Town 8 15 19 37

Waterville 18 32 48 63

3-pt. goals – Old Town (4-13): Smart 2-3, Goodwin 2-2, St. Louis 0-1, Wilcox 0-1, King 0-6; Waterville (3-9): Nale 2-3, Gardiner 1-1, Sta. Whitten 0-1, Given 0-4