LAWRENCE — On a night when two-time Maine Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year Nia Irving was in the building, Lawrence’s Nadia Morrison turned in a very Irving-like performance.
The freshman Morrison scored a game-high 10 points and grabbed 25 rebounds, including a crucial offensive board with less than 10 seconds remaining, powering the Bulldogs to a 40-36 win over Cony in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A regular season finale for both squads. The win improved Lawrence to 15-3 and cemented the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Class A North tournament with the season sweep of the Rams (10-7).
Lawrence will host Erskine Academy in a preliminary-round game Tuesday night.
Greg Chesley, who coached Irving in her dominant 2014 and 2015 seasons, couldn’t help but notice Morrison’s resemblance.
“Kind of fitting that Nia Irving’s here in the gym tonight,” Chesley said. “That’s the most dominating rebounding performance I’ve seen since Nia was here. It was just phenomenal.
“We missed shot after shot after shot, and (Morrison) got us a second attempt so many times.”
Morrison’s efforts helped keep Lawrence from falling out of this one early. The Bulldogs trailed throughout, and were only tied twice over the game’s first 31 minutes.
“She shows up every night, but she definitely showed up (Thursday) on the boards,” Lawrence forward Ali Higgins said.
A woeful shooting night didn’t help Lawrence. The Bulldogs managed just 13 field goals — six in the second half — and were a meager 26 percent from the floor. When it mattered most late, they made the shots that counted.
Or, they made the shot that counted.
With 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Higgins hit a short jumper from the right side to give Lawrence a 37-36 lead, its first and last lead of the game.
“Shortly before that (Higgins) passed up a three that would have put us up, and during the (Prebit) free throw I pulled Ali over and told her, ‘Hey, I’ve got confidence in you,’” Chesley said. “‘You keep shooting. Never stop.’ … We need those girls to have that mentality.”
Lawrence’s Ali Higgins leaps high in the air while playing defending Cony’s Raegan Bechard during a girls basketball game Thursday in Fairfield. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
“To have that confidence from him put confidence back in me,” Higgins said. “That’s what I like about playing for him.”
Cony got just one point — a Sierra Prebit free throw that put the Rams up 36-35 at the time — over the last 5:55 of the final period. Once again, the pressure cooker that is Folsom Gymnasium wilted another opponent down the stretch.
“I feel like every time you put on that jersey that says ‘Lawrence’ everybody’s out to get you,” Higgins said. “Everybody plays their best game against us.”
“You’ve got to give credit to (Lawrence). They made plays at the end,” Cony coach Adam Rich added. “They got a couple of offensive rebounds at the end and just made some great plays. I think that’s what did us in.”
Lawrence trailed 15-7 after the first quarter and 21-17 at halftime. The Bulldogs made some defensive adjustments at the break and took advantage of a size advantage in the post against the Rams, who were without injured 5-11 senior forward Indiya Clarke.
By the time the night was over, Lawrence had nearly as many offensive rebounds (16) as Cony did total rebounds (17).
Lawrence’s Ali Higgins, left, and Cony’s Kristen Kirk tangle for the ball during a girls basketball game Thursday in Fairfield. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
The Bulldogs finished with a 46-17 edge on the boards, anchored by Morrison’s 25 and Brianna Poulin’s six second-half rebounds after first-half foul trouble.
“We just came together and brought the fire in the second half,” Morrison said. “This is the one team I’ve been on where every single person encourages everybody, doesn’t get mad or crack under pressure. It’s just been amazing.”
Hope Bouchard added 10 points for Lawrence, and Poulin finished with seven.
For Cony, Alyssa Redman led the way with nine points before fouling out with 2:26 remaining. Prebit added seven points and Raegan Bechard and Sage Fortin each scored six.
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