AUGUSTA – It’s off to the regional final for the Old Orchard Beach girls basketball team.
Led by senior guard Elise MacNair, who scored 32 points and added 12 rebounds, the No. 2 Seagulls rolled to a 59-43 win over No. 3 Kents Hill in a Class C South semifinal Friday morning at the Augusta Civic Center.
It’s the first regional final appearance for OOB since 2017, when it lost to Monmouth.
“We had a little bit of a commute (for the morning game), but it was good, the kids were ready when we got on the bus,” Old Orchard head coach Dean Plante said.
Old Orchard (17-3) will play in the Class C South final at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Augusta. Sarah Davis added seven points and six rebounds for the Seagulls.
“It felt really good in the moment when that buzzer went off (to end the game),” MacNair said. “We all just corralled together… We’ll be ready (for the C South final).”
Kents Hill finished 17-3. Rose Jenkins led the Huskies with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Logan McDonald added 14 points and six rebounds.
Old Orchard’s defense managed to hold Kents Hill to just 10 points in the first half. The Seagulls jumped out to an 8-0 run to get a quick start. A 10-0 run gave Old Orchard a comfortable 29-10 lead heading into halftime. The Seagulls showed strong play on the boards during the first half and proved to be too quick on transition.
“When we’re getting the little stuff done, making it look a little easy, getting it done quick and fast, it just ebbs and flows into our game,” MacNair said.
“When you watch us all year, we’re a pretty entertaining team to watch,” Plante said. “Elise is a great player, but we have balance, and we have some kids that can do some things and they complement each other well. I think what we did early was, we were really tenacious on defense, rebounding, communicating. That’s what it takes (to win).”
MacNair scored 14 of her 32 points in the first half for the Seagulls.
The Huskies improved offensively in the second half, outscoring Old Orchard 20-18 in the third quarter. Regina Sabirova provided the offensive spark for Kents Hill, scoring 11 of her 12 points in the third quarter alone.
“I thought we woke up a little bit in the second half, lit a fire under us a little bit,” Kents Hill head coach R.J. Jenkins said. “I thought the girls used more aggression. (Old Orchard) has a good zone (defense). They trap, they fly around and have good athletes. We did not shoot the ball well in either game (at the Civic Center) and I think that hurt us. Give (Old Orchard) credit, they’re very good and MacNair is very good. I’m very proud with how we fought.”
McDonald and Rose Jenkins provided a strong scoring presence for Kents Hill in the fourth quarter, but the Seagulls’ lead was too much to overcome, and MacNair scored eight points in the final period to seal the game for Old Orchard.
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