BANGOR – There will be a new state schoolgirl basketball champion in Class D.
Junior guard Megan Korhonen sank four free throws in the final 39.8 seconds and Lacy Farrar added a clinching pair as sixth-seeded Greater Houlton Christian Academy rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to upset defending state D champ Lee Academy, 64-61, in their Eastern Maine Class D quarterfinal at the Bangor Auditorium on Monday morning.
The 18-2 Eagles will now take on No. 2 Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook in Thursday’s 7:05 p.m. semifinal. Southern Aroostook, also 18-2, received a game-high 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals from senior forward Audrey Charette in ousting 10th-seed Limestone 38-27.
In the opener, Korhonen hit her first pair of free throws with 39.8 seconds remaining to give GHCA a 60-57 lead.
After Aarika Ritchie tied it with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, Korhonen gave her team the lead for good with two more with 23.5 seconds remaining.
Jackie Moors’ free throw with 8.6 seconds left cut the lead to one but after she missed the second, the ball was tied up, GHCA had the possession arrow and Farrar was fouled and iced it with her pair with 3.2 seconds left.
“I wasn’t nervous. I knew I had to make them but this gym feels good for foul shots,” said Farrar.
GHCA coach Vaughn Farrar, Lacy’s father, said they have worked “immensely” on free throws since last season.
Korhonen takes it a step further.
“I’ll go outside and practice them. I’ll scrape the ice off the court,” said Korhonen.
Lee Academy was leading 33-22 with 5:59 left in the third quarter when the Eagles began their comeback.
Jessica Jago keyed a 12-2 run that tied it up 34-34 with all three of her baskets and a pass to Farrar for a conventional three-point play.
Ritchie aggressively drove the lane for three baskets during a 10-5 Lee Academy run that re-established a five-point lead with seven minutes remaining in regulation.
GHCA responded with a 16-7 run sparked by three Sarah Riopel 3-pointers and an Amanda Livezey 3-pointer that capped it.
“Hitting the first one got the flow going,” said Riopel.
The second of two Amanda Gifford jumpers during a 6-3 Lee surge cut it to 58-57 with 47.5 seconds left.
Farrar finished with 16 points and five rebounds; Livezey contributed 14 points; Korhonen had nine points, eight rebounds and five assists and Jago had five rebounds, four assists and six points.
Gifford’s game-high 19 points and Ritchie’s 16 paced Lee, which finished 15-5. Kerri Harris had a team-high seven rebounds with Karin Bird and Dana Houghton grabbing six each.
In the nightcap, the 5-foot-10 Charette scored six of her 16 points during a 10-0 run in the second quarter after Limestone standout 5-11 center Anna Haller had to sit after receiving her third foul with 3:20 left.
That gave SAHS an 18-11 lead before Limestone’s Sheena Page hit a jumper to end the half.
“When their post players get in foul trouble, we always pick it up a little bit down under [the basket],” said Charette who was complemented by 5-10 Shana Martin.
Haller returned to the lineup at the outset of the second half but the Warriors scored the first 10 points to build the lead to 28-13, outrebounding the cold-shooting Eagles 5-0 during the stretch.
Charette scored four of the points with Amanda Clark contributing an 11-foot jumper, an assist and a steal.
Limestone couldn’t get closer than eight the rest of the way.
“They kept pounding the ball inside and it seemed like we couldn’t do anything against it. But we tried really hard,” said Haller.
Martin had eight points and seven rebounds and Carmen McLaughlin contributed nine rebounds and three steals.
Sheena Page’s seven points and Haller’s six points and nine rebounds led 11-9 Limestone. Julie Peers had three steals.
EAGLES 64, PANDAS 61
Gr. Houlton Ch. (18-2) Lee Academy (15-5)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Farrar 5 11 5 7 16 Gifford 8 14 19
Livezey 5 9 0 0 14 Moors 1 6 6
Jago 3 10 0 0 6 Bird 4 11 0 8
Korhonen 2 6 5 6 9 Ritchie 7 14 16
Boutilier 2 5 4 4 8 Houghton 2 4
Lord 1 3 0 0 2 K. Harris 2 7 5
Riopel 3 8 0 1 9 B. Harris 1 3
Totals 21 52 14 18 64 Totals 25 63 12 61
GHCA 12 20 39 64
Lee 8 25 40 61
3-pt. goals – (GHCA 8-17): Livezey 4-6, Riopel 3-6, Farrar 1-4, Korhonen 0-1; (Lee 5-18): Gifford 3-6, Ritchie 1-5, B. Harris 1-3, K. Harris 0-1, Bird 0-3
WARRIORS 38, LIMESTONE 27
Limestone/MSSM (11-9) So. Aroostook (18-2)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
K. Peers 1 7 0 0 2 Au.Chr’te 8 12 0 2 16
King 0 4 1 1 1 Collier 3 9 0 6
J. Peers 2 4 0 5 4 McLau’lin 1 2
Allen 1 4 0 0 2 Clark 1 5 2
Haller 2 6 2 6 6 Martin 4 12 8
Page 3 10 1 1 7 Caswell 2 6 0 4
O’Neal 2 2 0 0 5 Desmond 0 0 0
Mulherin 0 0 0 0 0 Am.Chr’te 0 0
Cote 0 0 0 0 0
Bernier 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 11 37 4 13 27 Totals 19 50 38
Limestone 8 13 17 27
So. Aroostook 4 18 28 38
3-pt. goals – (Limestone/MSSM 1-5): O’Neal 1-1, King 0-4; (So. Aroostook 0-6): Clark 0-2, McLaughlin 0-2, Collier 0-2
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