AUGUSTA — The Temple Academy and Rangeley girls basketball teams essentially left the Augusta Civic Center on Thursday with their pre-tournament goals intact.
Temple got its first tournament win in decades on Wednesday as well as the experience its young team needs. Top-seeded Rangeley got another resounding victory in its quest toward a Class D state championship
“We want to go all the way,” said Rangeley sophomore Sydney Royce, who scored a game-high 21 points in her team’s 60-23 win against Temple.
Rangeley (19-1) will face No. 3 Vinalhaven for the Class D South regional championship Saturday afternoon at the Civic Center. No. 4 Temple closes its season at 13-7.
Midway through the first quarter it was evident Temple was in trouble. The Bereans had trouble getting the ball up the floor and were giving up layups at the other end.
“We knew they were going to press us,” Temple coach Mike Gorman said. “Their defense is good, they’re all over the ball. They completely dictated how this game was played.”
The Bereans had 30 turnovers, most of those in the first half. They fell behind 13-3 after a quarter and trailed 33-8 at the half. Nine of the Lakers’ 10 baskets in the second quarter were layups.
“Everyone’s intensity together makes me want to work so much more,” Royce said. “It’s nice that everyone is so intense.”
Royce scored eight points in the second quarter while Celia Philbrick and Natasha Haley had four apiece. Leading scorer and rebounder Blayke Morin, the team’s 6-foot-2 senior center, played a role of facilitator rather than scorer. She finished with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.
“We’ve been saying all year that we’re a well-balanced team,” Rangeley coach Heidi Deery said. “This is good for us. Blayke is the most unselfish player there is. She doesn’t care who scores. If she needs to she will and if she can distribute the ball, she’s an excellent passer.”
The second half mirrored the first. The Lakers rattled off 15 points capped by Morin’s layup at the buzzer to make it 48-14. Temple’s leading scorer, junior Kiara Carr, scored four of her eight points in the third quarter, but the Lakers continued to force turnovers.
“I think our team defense has improved drastically,” Deery said. “The help and recover we had on switches was key, I think.”
Junior guard Veronica Rossignol led Temple with 10 points.
“We’ve only got one senior,” Gorman said. “We’ve got an eighth-grader that starts. We were ecstatic (Wednesday). I couldn’t be more proud of the season. Last year we were 8-10. This is a great experience for us.”
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