A blend of consistency on both ends of the floor turned out to be the recipe for success for the Deer Isle-Stonington girls basketball team Monday morning.
The fourth-ranked Mariners used an efficient effort from Macey Brown (19 points, eight rebounds, five steals) and suffocating defense to grind out a 45-21 Class D North quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Katahdin at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Deer Isle (14-5) advances to Wednesday night’s semifinal round against the winner of Monday’s second contest between top-ranked Southern Aroostook and Ashland while Katadhin wraps up its season 9-10.
The Mariners assumed control early thanks to the aggressiveness of Brown on the offensive end and a suffocating player-to-player defense that bottled the Cougars up anytime they penetrated the paint.
Brown’s seven first-quarter points fueled a 9-0 first-quarter run from which Katahdin could not recover.
Deer Isle-Stonington’s aggressiveness on the defensive end led to 13 first-half turnovers by the Cougars, who had a difficult time penetrating inside against the Mariners’ player-to-player defense.
Rylee Door and Maya Brown contributed eight points apiece for the Mariners.
Katahdin was led by Mckenzie Landry’s seven points.