Washburn wins big
By Joseph Cyr
Sports Editor
BANGOR — If anyone ever doubted that a good defense can make for a great offense, they need only watch the Washburn girls basketball team.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
CALLING IT — Washburn coach Mike Carlos raises his hands on a 3-point shot attempt by one of his players Monday afternoon.
Beavers 56
Patriots 26
The No. 1 Beavers (17-2 overall) used a smothering defense to force numerous turnovers Monday evening as Washburn defeated No. 8 Bangor Christian 56-26 in an Eastern Class D quarterfinal game played at the Bangor Auditorium. Washburn now faces No. 5 Fort Fairfield 3:35 p.m. Thursday in Bangor in the semifinals. Fort Fairfield advanced to the semifinals with a 51-45 win over Southern Aroostook, also Monday.
The Patriots finish their season with a 12-7 record.
Washburn and Fort Fairfield met twice on the regular season, with the Beavers winning both contests — 54-46 at home and 51-46 at Fort Fairfield.
Prior to stepping onto the Bangor Auditorium floor, the Beaver girls could be heard singing, “We are Family,” in the corridor outside the Auditorium. That closeness certainly translated onto the hardwood as well as the Beavers played a near-flawless game against Bangor Christian.
Washburn received a pair of 20-point efforts from Rebecca Campbell and Carmen Bragg, while Sarah Sjoberg added five; Rayah Saucier and Meghan Saucier, four each; Taylor Thompson, two; and Kennedy Churchill, one.
For the Patriots, Emma Johnson had eight points; Whitney Holmes added six; Leah Dorman, four; and Kristen Roemmich, Olivia Arnold and Gabby Melcher, each had two.
Defense has been the name of the game for Beaver coach Michael Carlos. Throughout Monday’s game, Carlos could be heard screaming “double it!” whenever a Bangor Christian player touched the ball.
“That’s the name of our game,” he said. “I like to tell people basketball is a process. Last year, we got the first half of the process, now we are seeing the second half of the process with offense flowing from the defense. That’s the direction we want things to be heading.”
Bangor Christian opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from Holmes, but after that it was all Washburn as the Beavers went on a 13-2 run to close out the quarter. In that quarter, the Beavers scored in every facet of the game – transition layups, free throws and perimeter shooting. Defensively, the Beaver never let up, either.
“We wanted to press all game,” Carlos said. “If they [Bangor Christian] could handle it, great for them. If not, great for us.”
The Beavers were 11 of 22 (50 percent) from the foul line, while the Patriots were 2 of 4 (50 percent) from the stripe.
PATRIOTS 5 7 6 8 — 26
BEAVERS 13 15 13 15 — 56
