PORTLAND — Seeing his team surrender the first five points of the Class B championship game, Greely coach Joel Rogers took a timeout to settle his squad down.
Rogers told his team to be aggressive and to shoot. His team did just that.
The Western Maine champion rattled off 33 of the next 38 points and coasted in the second half for a 56-39 victory over Presque Isle on Friday at the Cross Insurance Arena. The win solidified the Rangers’ first state title since 2004.
The Rangers (20-2) did what they’ve done all season long to capture the crown: they knocked down 3-pointers. Greely set a new Class B state championship game record by hitting nine 3s — seven in the first half — breaking Houlton’s and George Stevens Academy’s previous mark of five. Its nine 3s tied Cony’s and Rangeley’s record for most in any state championship game.
“We started really slow, but we just started taking the shots that were open and they went in,” Greely’s Isabel Porter said.
After the Wildcats (19-3) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, the Rangers responded with back-to-back 3s from Moira Train and Porter to close out the first quarter and Porter hit another shot from behind the arc to open the second. Greely knocked down another four in the second quarter as it closed the half on a 19-3 run for a 33-10 lead.
“We get down 5-0 and then all the sudden one of them hits and another one hits,” Rogers said. “We had really good ball movement, but to hold them to ten points in the first half was unbelievable.”
Train finished with a game-high 14 points. Porter joined her in double figures with 12 coming off the bench.
The Rangers only attempted four 3s in the second half, but didn’t need them as they led by as many as 26. The Wildcats got as close as 14 late in the fourth quarter, but Greely’s early shooting was too much to overcome.
Ashley Storey did Greely’s damage in the post. Despite being triple teamed at times, Storey finished with 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in her final high school game.
Shooting the open shot was only half of what Rogers told his team during that early timeout. He also switched defenses, going from a zone to a man-to-man. That, too, worked. The Wildcats went the final 6:09 of the first quarter without a basket and another three minutes into the second.
“We just get it done on defense and that sparks our offense, so we just start taking our shots and they start going in and we get confidence as we keep going,” Porter said.
For a while, it looked as if Greely’s defensive showing would be one for the record books. Through three quarters, Presque Isle mustered just 22 points. The fewest points scored by a team in a Class B state championship game was 30 by Gray-New Gloucester in 2001.
“The defense was all them,” Rogers said. “Their effort on defense is just honoring from sitting in my perspective on how much energy they use to shut them down.”
A 17-point fourth quarter kept the Wildcats out of the record books. Krystal Kingsbury led Presque Isle with 18 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter. All 18 points came in the second half.
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