Lawrence High School of Fairfield senior guard Maddie Provost knows all about heartache.
Last season, her Bulldogs took a 19-0 record into their Class A North semifinal against Camden Hills of Rockport only to be upset by the Windjammers 64-56.
They came into the Class B North tournament with a 13-5 record but Provost has led the Bulldogs to a pair of tourney wins over Mount Desert Island and Ellsworth, and now they will face Gardiner in Friday’s 5 p.m. title game against Gardiner at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
She had a game-high 26 points in the 74-45 victory over Mount Desert Island and followed that up with a 21-point performance in the gritty 47-42 win over Ellsworth. She had 11 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter of the victory over Ellsworth.
She also finished with five assists, four steals, three blocked shots and three rebounds vs. Ellsworth.
Her steal and layup off an Ellsworth mid-court inbounds play with 1:27 remaining gave the Bulldogs a 44-40 lead and proved to be crucial.
“You want to try to get over that hump in the semifinals. Unfortunately, last year we didn’t make it over the hump. That made me want it even more this year,” said the 5-foot-8 Provost, who will take her basketball abilities to Holy Cross in Massachusetts next season.
Provost was a first team All-Maine Bangor Daily News Schoolgirl selection a year ago and was faced with the burden of trying to lead the Bulldogs to a title this season.
That can certainly add some pressure.
“Obviously, it’s been tough,” said Provost. “But I’ve tried to have fun with it. I know it’s my last year with a lot of kids I grew up with. So there has been a little bit on my shoulders and I would say it has been fun.”
She has had an outstanding season, averaging 26 points and nine rebounds per game while also chipping in a number of assists, steals and blocks.
“She is awesome,” said Ellsworth coach Andy Pooler. ”She’s one of the best players in the state. It’s fun to watch her play.”
Lawrence coach Greg Chesley had similar input.
“When you have a special player like that, you just sit back and watch sometimes,” Chesley said. “I’ve talked a lot about that big steal she had on the inbounds play.”
Chesley said Provost has gotten better every year.
“Her shooting range is pretty incredible,” said Chesley. “She can shoot it from a long ways.”
Chesley also said that Provost has improved at pushing the ball into the paint and getting to the rim.
“She’s not the biggest, strongest kid on the court but she battles and she can shoot from weird angles. She elevates well. So she can get inside and get shots off that other people can’t.”
He also said Provost anticipates well on defense.
“She is very quick. I don’t think people give her enough credit for being quick and as fast as she is also,” Chesley said. “But she sees plays two or three steps before they happen. So she can see if an opponent is going to make that pass and she is already headed in that direction and she comes up with some big steals.”
And that was the case on that critical steal against Ellsworth.
Provost expects to hit the weight room in preparation for her college career.
“I’m going to be playing against kids who have been hitting the weights for three years,” she said.
She is looking forward to meeting new people in college and will spend some of her summer in Massachusetts.
But before she focuses on college, she will try to win regional and state championships beginning Friday night against a Gardiner team that beat her Bulldogs twice during the regular season.
