Lawrence defeats Brunswick to win Class A girls state championship
The Class A North champion Lawrence Bulldogs shot the ball well early and locked in on defense late to earn a 58-43 victory over Brunswick in the girls Class A state championship basketball game on Friday night at the Augusta Civic Center.
Hope Bouchard paced No. 2 Lawrence (19-3) with 25 points, while Werner led No. 1 Brunswick (19-3) with 16.
Brunswick took a 5-0 lead at the start of the game before Lawrence went on a 12-0 run. During the run, Bouchard scored five points and the Bulldogs hit three 3-pointers.
Bouchard ended the first quarter with eight points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal as the Bulldogs led the Dragons 15-8.
Brunswick’s Maddy Werner scored off an offensive rebound to begin the second quarter, followed by another basket by Wagner making it 15-12 just 75 seconds into the period. Werner finished the first half with eight points.
Madalyn Provost, a freshman for Lawrence, had herself a huge second quarter, scoring seven points. Provost started her scoring in the second with a fadeaway pull-up jumper from the baseline that gave the Bulldogs a 19-12 lead midway through the second.
At the end of the quarter, Provost was fouled on a 3-point attempt from the corner. The freshman sank one free throw but missed the first and the last before Brianna Poulin grabbed the offensive rebound. Poulin found Provost who was then fouled again on a layup. Provost made both of the ensuing free throws and Lawrence entered halftime with a 29-16 lead.
After just one made field goal in the first half, Brunswick’s Alexis Morin got it going in the third.
With 1:45 left, Morin swished a 3-pointer to cut the Dragons’ deficit to 35-28. On the next possession, Dakota Shipley blocked a Poulin 3-point attempt and found Kelsie Carlton running up the court. Carlton quickly found Morin under the hoop who scored and was fouled, completing the old-fashioned three-point play and making it a four-point game.
With 5.5 seconds left in the third, Lawrence passed the ball in bounds to Provost who passed to Elizabeth Crommett at the top of the key. Crommett sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave Lawrence a 41-33 lead with eight minutes left in the title game.
Bouchard, who was held to just two points in the third, started the fourth quarter off with a smooth mid-range jumper that answered an early Brunswick basket.
After Werner scored at the rim, Bouchard answered with a triple from the right wing and gave the Bulldogs another double-digit lead with 4:34 left.
In the end, Lawrence was too much. Bouchard scored five free throws in the final two minutes to hold off the Dragons and earn the victory.