HERMON – Margie Deabay knew something good was up.

“I just had this grin all day,” the first-year Hermon girls basketball coach said as the No. 7 Hawks celebrated their 54-50 Eastern Maine Class B preliminary victory over No. 10 Ellsworth Tuesday night.

Hermon got a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds from 6-foot sophomore center Malerie Hall as the Hawks earned their first trip to the Bangor Auditorium since 1995.

“Every since I was little, watching the TV, I’ve always wanted to go to the Auditorium,” said a teary, shaky Shannon Dobbins, who made three clutch free throws in the fourth. “This is a dream come true. This was our team goal.”

The Hawks, now 11-8, will face No. 2 Camden Hills, the team that defeated them in the preliminary round last year, in a quarterfinal Friday at 7:35 p.m.

The win was Hermon’s seventh in its previous eight games.

Hermon took a 40-36 lead into the fourth quarter and was hanging onto a 44-42 advantage when Ellsworth’s Cassie Kimball hit a short jumper to tie the game with 5:19 left.

Paige Macdonald put in two free throws to give the lead back to the Hawks, but Krystal Roberts went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in a span of about 1:20 for a 49-46 edge for the Eagles.

Hermon senior standout Jessie Wiggin didn’t shoot as well as she normally does, but she dropped in a 3-pointer from the left side to tie the game with 2:24 left. Laura Archer made another free throw for Ellsworth, but Hall hit both ends of a 1-and-1 for the winning basket. Dobbins made three more FTs to seal it.

Free throws haven’t been Dobbins’ strong point this year, she said, but Dobbins, Hall and Macdonald combined to go 9-for-11 from the line in the fourth quarter.

Hall scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half as 5-10 forward Shannon Wiggin got into foul trouble. She eventually fouled out in the fourth.

“I needed to step up second half,” Hall said. “I had to. Shannon fouled out, so I did it for her.”

Possibly even more important was Hermon’s switch from a 1-2-2 zone defense to man-to-man. The Hawks made the switch with about five minutes to go, and that kept the Eagles from making any more 3-pointers. Ellsworth made six as a team.

“We came out and played smart man defense and I was so happy with that,” Deabay said.

Archer led Ellsworth (10-9) with 12 points. Roberts had 11.

The Eagles were in foul trouble early as Ashley Oleson, one of Ellsworth’s top scorers and rebounders, picked up her third foul in the second quarter. Oleson fouled out in the fourth as did fellow starter Boutaugh, who finished with 10 points.

“Foul trouble killed us,” Ellsworth coach Dana Smith said. “We played gutsy but they’re a good team. They deserved it.”

HAWKS 54, EAGLES 50

No. 10 Ellsworth (10-9) No. 7 Hermon (11-8)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Eaton 0 0 0 0 0 J. Wiggin 4 24 2 2 12

Boutaugh 3 9 1 2 10 Smith 1 1 2

Kimball 3 14 1 2 8 Garland 2 6 4

Bickford 0 1 0 0 0 Dobbins 3 9 9

Duarte 0 4 0 0 0 S. Wiggin 3 8

Archer 4 10 3 4 12 Hall 4 10 16

Roberts 2 9 6 7 11 Hills 0 0 0

Fortier 0 0 0 0 0 Macdonald 0 3

Jones 1 1 0 0 2

Oleson 2 4 3 4 7

Totals 15 52 14 19 50 Totals 17 57 18 21 54

Ellsworth 11 17 36 50

Hermon 7 22 40 54

3-pt. goals: Ellsworth (6-18): Boutaugh 3-8, Roberts 1-1, Archer 1-2, Kimball 1-7; Hermon (2-11): J. Wiggin 2-10, Dobbins 0-1

Attendance: 300 (est.)