Trust the Process

The consensus around the state was that while A South girls had strong Region of Death vibes, that wouldn't really kick in until the semifinals. With three Regional Champs from last year who all return their stars, plus an emerging Sanford team, it was easy to pencil in the top 4 into the semis where the real fireworks would begin.

But someone forgot to tell the bottom 4 seeds they were supposed to roll over.

It started with the first game. Down early, #6 Westbrook used a 20-7 first half run to put the AA State Champs from SoPo on the ropes at the half. I don't know what happened at halftime. Maybe South Portland figured something out on defense, but they held Westbrook to 1/15 from the floor in the third while going on an 18-2 run to reclaim the lead and survive a scare. Annie Whitmore led the way with 19.

When we went through A South in the Cinderella podcast, Jay asked if I was discounting Sanford because I hadn't seen them in person.

I've now seen them.

Going in, I knew the name Mollie Puffer. She'd show up from time to time in the newsletter for big scoring nights, but I didn't really know much more than that. I'm now a big fan. It takes about 30 seconds to realize the girl can flat-out play. She's a high-IQ player who impacts the game on both ends, passes well, has a jumper that looks like it was built by grinding Jimmy Chitwood tape, and had several plays on defense that got a reflexive "wow" out of me. She had 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, a blocked shot, and zero turnovers according to my stat keeping. Oh, and she's a sophomore. Sanford easily handled a Thornton Academy team that could be very good over the next couple of years.

Puffer will go head-to-head with Whitmore in the semifinals. That alone will be worth the price of admission.

The Model had Biddeford/Windham as the Game of the Day, which I publicly questioned in yesterday's newsletter. I was wrong. In one of the best games we've had at the Expo so far, Biddeford's swarming defense kept them in the game while they struggled shooting. At one points, Windham was out-shooting Biddeford 42% to 19% and losing. This was close the whole way, but when Biddeford went on an 11-2 run at the end of the third quarter to open up their biggest lead of the game (5), it seemed like they might run away with it. But Carly Franzoni found Chloe Delewski for a long 2, then hit a three herself to regain the lead.

Then Biddeford found their shooting touch. Gabriella Silva hit a three to tie the game. Mackenzie Delewski answered with one of her own. Then Natalia Silva drilled one to tie it back up.

Let's go to the final seconds with Windham up 2.

That's Natalia Silva with the game winner. She had 10 of her 14 in the final minutes.

Biddeford wins a thriller to set up the Semifinals of Death. Trust the Process.

Michael Hoffer was there.

Biddeford survives Windham in down-to-the-wire quarterfinal

PORTLAND—Biddeford’s girls’ basketball team didn’t just face a two-point deficit when it took a timeout with under a minute remaining in Tuesday evening’s palpitating Class A South quarterfinal versus Windham at the Portland Exposition Building The fourth-ranked Tigers also carried with them the weight of history and the possibility

Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer

As part of my collaboration with Varsity Maine, I jumped on the camera with Lee Horton to recap the quarterfinals from the Expo, while Mike Mandell and Jimmy James chimed in from Augusta. Mandell dressed up!

More to come!

Speaking of Biddeford and playoff games, Caribou's Quinn Corrigan played the hero role again for the Vikings. She scored 17 of her 22 points in the second half and overtime as Caribou rallied down 9 in the second half to get by Dexter.

Quinn Corrigan is the hero again for Caribou girls

Caribou trailed by as many as nine in the first half but Quinn Corrigan rallied the Vikings in the second half.

Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney

Over in Augusta, the 5th seeded Winthrop girls found themselves down 16 to #4 Oak Hill. They then closed on a 29-11 run to shock Oak Hill 41-39 and set a date with Spruce Mountain.

Forest Hills and Pine Tree were knotted at 60 when Maddox Cuddy drained a three from NBA range to help the boys from Jackman advance.

Jaxson Desjardins and Aaden Nadeau each scored 23. Rhett Tyson had 26 in the losing effort.

Elsewhere

Mason Pelletier went off for 34 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 7 steals and Easton beat Katahdin...Harry Louis scored 19 points and Levi Short chipped in with 18 & 10 as Valley beat Islesboro...Natasha McDonald's 21 led Spruce over Mount View...Abby Luczynski's 20 points wasn't enough to overcome Maranacook's balanced attack. Celia Bergdahl had 14 & 11.Jonesport-Beals got 16 points from Anderson Alley and handled Shead...Wells' Megyn Mertens scored 18 points in a win over Winslow...Liana Hartwell was 1 assist shy of her second triple-double of the tournament as Valley rolled over Temple. She finished with 18 points, 10 steals, and 9 assists...Down 10 early, the Forest Hills girls ripped off a 27-7 run to take control against Vinalhaven and advance to the S South Regional Final...Cheverus overcame a dreadful shooting stretch to beat Gorham. At one point they were shooting 8%. Kylie Lamson led the way with 13...Washington Academy closed on a 23-5 run to shock Foxcroft...Ava Lerman scored 17 points and nabbed 6 steals in Wisdom's win over Ashland...Emily McNally (no relation) went for 17 & 7 and Katahdin beat Jonesport-Beals...Owen Corrigan had 26 and according to my Mother, there was a technical for dunking in warmups in Caribou's win over Calais...Addison Cyr capped off the night with 25 & 12 as Mattanawcook doubled up Orono.

Every tournament week, you see a handful of plays you could go years before you see it again...like a player control foul on a half-court heave.

I'm pretty sure that's Wells' Payton Fazzina stepping in to take the hit with a heads-up play. Sometimes you'll see a defender block a half-court shot, but you almost never see this. That's whatever our equivalent of a Tommy Point is, for sure.

Tourney Player stats are updated for all of the quarterfinal games.

Tourney Stats

Every player. Every game.

Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly

Don't forget!

With the quarterfinals over, we're on to WHOU for the semis and regionals, then Maine Public for the State Championship games.

We're on to the semifinals, which means if my math is right, there's 72 teams still alive.

Akol Maiwen and Edward Little take on Logan Gray and Brunswick in an A North semifinal in Augusta. These are two teams with dynamic potential. Maiwen, of course, comes from a family great players and had 26 points in the quarterfinals. Gray, you might remember, got that ridiculous 1-game suspension for 2 dunk technicals in a day.

Edward Little swept the season series, but as we've already learned this week, that isn't a guarantee of anything. Everyone I've talked to thinks this could go either way. The Model agrees.

The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump.