AUGUSTA — The Energizer Bunny has nothing on this group of Dirigo Cougars.
Dirigo was amped up from the start Friday and never wore out in a 58-44 win over Madison in a Western C semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.
The Cougars went wire to wire with an emotional and energized effort that Madison couldn’t equal.
“We kept the energy up the rest of the way and that was a big part of it,” junior guard Sabrina Daoud said.
The Cougars roared out to a 12-0 lead and seized quick control of the game. Though Madison rebounded from a slow start and tried to make a run at the Dirigo lead, the Cougars never wilted.
“It does show how great Madison is because I thought we had a great offensive half and we were only up 11 at halftime,” Dirigo coach Karen Magnusson said. “They were right there. If they could have made a run that we couldn’t have countered, it would have been a closer game. I was proud that we kept countering and we stayed in it mentally.”
Dirigo (18-2) advances to Saturday’s regional final to play top-seed Marancook. The Cougars haven’t been to the Western C championship game since 2006.
“It feels awesome, especially as a senior,” forward Kelsey Hutchins said. “I watched Alexa Kaubris and Holly Knight and Gavin Kane those years. I grew up watching them play and have that. Now that we’re back at this and having this good basketball, I love it.”
Jessica Conant led the Cougars with 17 points while Hutchins added 15. Daoud and Knight each added seven.
Madison (11-10) got 15 from Erin Whalen. Emily Oliver added nine while Aly LeBlanc had eight.
The Cougars raced out to a 12-0 lead. Madison missed its first five shots and went 2-for-10 in the first quarter with five turnovers. Hutchins led Dirigo with six points in the first while Emma Lueders and Rachel Knight each hit 3’s.
“We knew they were going to be a tough competitor, even though they’re the 10th seed,” Daoud said. “They’re a really strong team. We knew if we came out with the energy we always have, we could have a nice lead, hopefully.”
The lead was 16-5 after one. Madison, which stunned top-ranked Boothbay in the quarterfinals, tried to make a run in the second. The Bulldogs shot 7-for-11 and got as close as nine, but every time Madison made a surge, Dirigo answered. The Cougars were up by as many as 15 and were up 32-21 at the half.
“When we’re working well together and clicking, it’s amazing,” Hutchins said. “I just felt it. So many girls were scoring. You feel that. All together, we were like ‘We’ve got this.'”
By halftime, seven different Cougars had scored.
“From the first quarter on, it was different people stepping up at different times,” Magnusson said.
Madison scored six straight in the third on a pair of baskets by Oliver and a hoop from Whalen. That cut it to 36-29. A three-point play by Conant and a free throw from Daoud had the lead to 40-29 before LeBlanc ended the quarter with a basket off a press breaker to make it 40-31 entering the fourth.
From there, Dirigo extended the lead to as many as 19, using a 13-2 run to break it open. The Cougars hit 12 of 13 free throws in the fourth to finish it off. Hutchins scored seven in the final quarter while Conant had five. Daoud and Lauren Henderson sank free throws as well as Dirigo finished the game with an 11-5 run.
“We have some strong seniors,” Magnusson said. “When you come into these games, they know what that next move is and they’re like ‘Let’s go’ because they want it.”
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