AUGUSTA — Carylanne Wolfington’s quest to hit 1,000 career points almost became more important to the Hall-Dale fans than the outcome of the game itself — which is why the fans were so excited when that quest had a happy ending.

Wolfington, who needed 20 points coming into Tuesday’s Western C girls basketball semifinal with St. Dominic, passed 1,000 with 1 minute, 28 seconds to play, when she hit a short lefty bank shot on the fast break. In other news, the defending state champion Bulldogs won the game, defeating St. Dom’s 45-32 at the Augusta Civic Center.

“Great student, great leader, a great teammate,” Hall-Dale coach Brandon Terrill said. “To have her name immortalized on our gym wall is really special, and she deserves it more than anyone I’ve ever coached.”

Hall-Dale improved to 16-3 with the win, and will face No. 4 Traip in the semifinals Thursday.

Wolfington reached 19 points in the third quarter and, after that, the Hall-Dale student section began screaming whenever she touched the ball. She missed four straight shots before making the basket that gave the Bulldogs a 43-27 lead.

Terrill immediately called timeout and the public address announcer notified the crowd of Wolfington’s milestone. The Hall-Dale students serenaded Wolfington with a chant of “We’re not worthy.”

In the opening minutes, however, the Hall-Dale fans were more nervous than elated.

St. Dom’s (8-12), which had lost to Hall-Dale by a total of 44 points in the regular season, jumped out to a 9-2 lead in this one. Behind Allison Conley (eight points, eight rebounds) and Mary Caron (13 points, nine rebounds), the Saints controlled the boards early, handled Hall-Dale’s press, and even shut down Wolfington and the Bulldogs offense.

Hall-Dale regained control by the end of the first quarter, and took the lead for good at 12-11 when Wolfington banked in a 35-footer with 7 seconds left in the quarter. Wolfington and Kristina Buck (15 points) each hit three 3-pointers in the game, most of them in the first half as Hall-Dale built a 26-18 lead at the break.

St. Dom’s closed the gap to 26-22 early in the third quarter, but made only four more field goals the rest of the way. With Hall-Dale slowly pulling away, the matter of interest became Wolfington, and she delivered.

“It means a lot,” Wolfington said. “Thank you to my family, coaches, teammates and community. That’s all I’d like to say.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

 

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