BANGOR – Lee Academy hadn’t won a tournament game at the Bangor Auditorium since 1976, but the Pandas looked accustomed to postseason success in Monday afternoon’s 83-45 Eastern D girls quarterfinal win over East Grand of Danforth.

Lee, the top-ranked team in the Northeast division, built a 10-point lead by the half and outscored the Vikings 20-11 in the third quarter to put the game away.

Senior Deidra Ham keyed the third-period surge with 10 points and three assists. But the poised playmaker still thinks her team hasn’t reached its peak.

“We all played really well. But we can still play better,” Ham said.

Lee improved to 16-3 while East Grand, the fifth seed in the Southeast division, finished at 8-12. Lee will play the winner of Monday’s 7:05 p.m. match-up between Bangor Christian and Limestone/Maine School of Science and Mathematics.

Eighth-year Lee coach Carrie Goodhue said her team responded well to the pressure of its number-one seed and the burden of years of tournament frustration.

“We lost in the first round the last two years so we were determined to win our first game here. … It takes a load off the shoulders,” Goodhue said.

The Pandas used a pesky brand of man-to-man, run-and-jump defense to neutralize the Vikings in the second half. Ham (six steals) and Ashley Linscott (seven steals) keyed the defense.

Lee held East Grand to just one point in the final period.

Ham finished with 20 points (9-of-16 shooting, 6-of-8 in the second half) and 11 assists while freshman forward Shelby Pickering battled in the post for 21 points. Pickering connected on 7-of-9 field goals and 7-of-9 free-throw tries.

Sophomore Katie Harris kept the Vikings’ perimeter defense honest, nailing four 3-pointers on the way to 14 points. Harris was 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the first period to help the Pandas to the early lead.

East Grand coach Wade McLaughlin said his team showed its youth in the face of the Panda pressure. The Vikings have just one senior, starting forward Tabbatha Osnoe.

“We were flat not because of a lack of energy, but a lack of focus. We’re so young it’s scary,” said McLaughlin, who also has two eighth-graders on his roster. East Grand, with an enrollment of 74, has fewer than 40 girls in the school.

Junior Amanda Godley paced the Vikings with 22 points, including 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. Marie Gilman added 13 points (three 3-pointers) and Chantel Parker grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

Pandas 83, Vikings 45

East Grand (8-12) Lee (16-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Mortland 0 1 0 0 0 Mallett 1 3 2

Gilman 4 13 2 3 13 Bird 0 2 0

Parker 2 5 1 2 5 Hanscom 1 4 2

P. Osnoe 0 0 0 0 0 Harris 5 11 14

Godley 6 15 9 11 22 Linscott 2 5

Hanington 0 3 0 0 0 D. Ham 9 16 20

Page 0 0 0 0 0 Hersom 1 3 3 5

Marks 0 1 0 0 0 Cole 2 4 6

Shay 0 0 0 0 0 M. Ham 0 1 0 0

Zaneldin 0 2 1 2 1 Gifford 2 6 4

T. Osnoe 1 4 2 4 4 Brown 1 1 2

McKay 0 0 0 0 0 Pickering 7 21

Merrill 0 0 0 0 0 Maxwell 1 2 2

Totals 13 44 15 22 45 32 67 14 25 83

East Grand 15 33 44 45

Lee 25 43 63 83

3-pt. goals: East Grand (4-12): Gilman 3-10, Godley 1-2; Lee (5-15): Harris 4-9, Linscott 1-3, D. Ham 0-2, M. Ham 0-1.