By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
BANGOR — Attention girls Class D basketball squads. The Washburn Beavers are the real deal and are looking to add another gold ball to their trophy case.
Aroostook Repubican photo/Joseph Cyr
Washburn’s Rayah Saucier tries to come up with a loose ball underneath the basket Monday evening during the Beavers’ Eastern Class D quarterfinal against Deer Isle-Stonington. Washburn rolled to a 78-40 victory.
No. 1 Washburn (18-1 overall) sent a strong message to the remaining teams in the Eastern Class D tournament Monday evening as the Beavers methodically dismantled No. 8 Deer Isle-Stonington 78-40 in a quarterfinal matchup.
The road to the state championship, it seems, must go through Washburn and coach Mike Carlos wouldn’t have it any other way.
Washburn advances to Thursday’s semifinal, where the Beavers will face No. 4 Van Buren (17-3) at 8:35 p.m. The Crusaders moved on via a 72-45 victory over No. 5 Shead earlier in the evening.
For the Beavers, Thursday’s game will be a chance to atone for what otherwise has been a perfect season. Van Buren is the only team to beat Washburn thus far, a 66-56 Crusader victory in Van Buren. Washburn beat the Crusaders 52-37 earlier in the year at home.
“I didn’t want us to have any letdowns,” Carlos said. “A lot of people might think that when a No. 1 seed plays a No. 8 seed that you don’t have to be up for it. That is not the case. You have to be up for every game, all the time.”
In Monday’s quarterfinal, the Beavers saw freshman Mackenzie Worcester explode for 29 points to lead all players. Joan Overman added 11 for Washburn, while Olivia Doody chipped in seven. For the Mariners, Janelle Ciomei had 20 points, while Chelsea Brown added 10.
Washburn had balanced scoring throughout much of its lineup with eight players contributing five points or more.
“It was a nice chance for us to get everyone into the game,” Carlos said. “I’ll pick on Taylor Blackstone-Thompson who came in and went three for three. That’s a great experience for her. It can help build confidence for our entire program.”
Facing Van Buren for the third time, Carlos said stopping sophomore sensation Parise Rossignol was not his top priority.
“She is not the key, her teammates are,” Carlos said. “We’ll put some emphasis on her for sure, but we’ll stay more with our strength of playing good team defense.”
Washburn was 10 of 17 from the free throw line (59 percent) and will look to improve that percentage in its next contest, the coach said. Deer Isle-Stonington was 10 of 24 (42 percent) from the line.
The rout over the Mariners was on from the get-go as Washburn scored the game’s first 14 points and Deer Isle-Stonington never recovered.
The emergence of Worcester as a freshman has been a welcomed addition to the Beavers, coach Carlos said. He wasn’t sure how his younger players would fare playing on the court of the Bangor Auditorium for the first time, but if Monday’s game was any indication, the future for the Beavers beyond this year looks bright.
“We’ve been blessed in Washburn and hopefully we will continue to be blessed,” Carlos said.
