AUGUSTA — If you had asked coach Mark Simpson if he’d be happy with Carylanne Wolfington’s scoring stats in the first half Saturday night, he’d likely have been thrilled.

The Livermore Falls girls’ basketball team had limited the MVC South Player of the Year to just one field goal and two free throws in the first half.

Those numbers were deceiving as far as the Andies were concerned. Though Wolfington had not done the damage Livermore Falls had feared, many of the other Bulldogs did.

Between Taylor Massey’s inside game and the shooting of various guards, Hall-Dale still produced the kind of offense that Livermore Falls couldn’t match. The Bulldogs took the early lead in the Western C title game at the Augusta Civic Center and never looked back in a 42-30 win.

“We concentrated on Wolfington, but they really had other players step up for them,” said Simpson. “They hit some really big shots. Overall, they just crept away from us.”

It was the first regional title for Hall-Dale since 2006. The Bulldogs (20-1) advance to Saturday’s Class C state title game against the winner of Monday’s Orono-Washington game.

“Losing nine seniors last year, if you’d told me we’d be Western Maine champions, I wouldn’t have believed you,” said Massey. “We lost three starters, but when the season started, we just kept winning and winning.”

Massey led the Bulldogs with 17 points. Wolfington and Wendy Goldman each finished with eight while Kristina Buck had five.

“Give (Megan) Therrien credit for such a tough defensive job on Wolfington,” said Hall-Dale coach Brandon Terrill. “We needed our supporting cast to step up. Wendy Goldman hit some shots. Chelsey Poland came off the bench and hit a 3.  Buck hit a shot and Taylor Massey was huge.”

Livermore Falls (17-4) got 13 from Marissa Welch and 11 from Kathryn Ventrella. The Andies struggled to find the flow offensively at times. Livermore Falls shot 2-for-8, 3-for-13 and 2-for-11 in the first three quarters.

“We talked about loosening up on offense — just relaxing,” said Simpson. “On defense we were doing fine. We were OK there. We just couldn’t get the offense going.”

Hall-Dale did a superb job defensively. They clogged the middle and made life tough for Welch in the paint. The Andies like to pound it inside but also like to add some shots from the perimeter, but those shots weren’t falling. It left the Andies a bit one dimensional.

“We usually get that short corner stuff,” said Simpson. “We weren’t getting any of that.”

The Andies kept pace in the first quarter. Free throws by Welch and Annika Durrell had put Livermore Falls up 8-7 before a Poland 3-pointer made it 10-8 after one.

In the second, Massey got going. She scored seven of her team’s 13 points as the Bulldogs opened a 23-14 lead at the half.

“I knew Welch would be guarding me,” said Massey. “I knew I had to switch up my game a little bit. I’d come out and if she was right on me, I could drive by her. If she didn’t, I could shoot it.”

Buck hit a 3 midway through the third. Then Massey and Wolfington followed with points to make it 32-17.

The Andies made a little bit of a run in the fourth. After a Welch free throw, Ventrella took one to the hoop and converted the three-point play. That closed the gap to 32-23, but Massey buried a Wolfington pass and then Wolfington scored to bump the lead back to 36-23. The Andies got within nine and 10 late in the fourth only to have the Bulldogs answer.

“It was a great season,” said Simpson. “We couldn’t ask for more. We got here. We accomplished some great goals. We got to the MVC championship. That was a huge goal for us, and getting here, this was great.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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