Lawrence High School of Fairfield senior guard Maddie Provost showed why she is one of the state’s best basketball players on Wednesday night.
On a night when she was held to just 10 points through three quarters, she erupted for 11 fourth-quarter points to go with two steals, an assist and a blocked shot to lead her third-seeded Bulldogs to a hard-fought 47-42 victory over seventh-seeded Ellsworth in their Class A semifinal at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
The Bulldogs, 15-5 and winners of five in a row and seven of eight, will now take on top seed Gardiner in Friday’s 7 p.m. championship game.
Ellsworth finished up at 12-8.
The Bulldogs were holding a tenuous 42-40 lead with 1:32 remaining when Ellsworth called a timeout and drew up an inbounds play at midcourt.
Provost stole the inbounds pass and drove the length of the court for a layup that gave the Bulldogs some valuable breathing room and triggered a string of five straight points that sewed up the win.
“The team kind of needed a spark and I was willing to do anything to get going,” Provost said.
Ellsworth coach Andy Pooler took responsibility for that inbounds play.
“That’s on me,” Pooler said. “I didn’t set them up correctly out of that timeout so I have to live with that one for the next 365 days.
“But, hey, it’s basketball in Bangor,” Pooler added.
Following the Provost basket, Ashley Shores fed Leah Tibbetts for a layup off an inbounds pass at midcourt and, seconds later, Tibbetts sank a free throw with 30 seconds remaining before Ellsworth senior guard Kaylee Baglee sank two free throws to cap the scoring.
Provost had just six points in the first half as fleet-footed Ellsworth junior guard Sydney Mason did an exceptional job guarding her.
But Provost picked it up in the second half with 15 points, three blocked shots and two steals.
“A big part of that was trying to figure out what my team needed me to do to win the game,” said Provost, who will play for Holy Cross next season. “Most of the year it’s been scoring, but tonight other people were scoring so I was able to get some steals and make some good passes to my teammates.”
She finished with five assists, four steals, three blocked shots and three rebounds to go with her 21 points.
“It was a pretty tough game. Ellsworth had a great game,” said Provost.
The Lawrence senior also praised Mason, saying she played “great defense” on her.
Lawrence built a 29-19 lead in the third period and appeared on its way to a comfortable win when the Eagles stunned the Bulldogs with a 13-0 run to take a three-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Bagley had two 3-pointers and a layup and Mason had a 3-pointer and an assist. Austyn Atherton had the other basket.
But Lawrence took the lead for good with a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter with Provost hitting a three, blocking a shot and racing the length of the court for a layup. Following two Amiah Lawyerson free throws, Provost made a steal and was eventually fouled and made both free throws.
Bagley hit a baseline layup and fed Atherton for a three to make it 38-37 but Provost made a layup and passed to Shores for a short jumper to make it 42-37 before Atherton nailed another three.
Provost then made her important steal and layup.
“I could see the look in Maddie’s eyes change in the mid fourth-quarter,” said Lawrence basketball coach Greg Chesley, who explained what that look showed him:
“I’m going to get to the rim. Yes, you’ve played great defense but I’m going to get to the rim and if that means I’m going to have to pass it when I get there, that’s fine,” Chesley said about Provost’s mindset. “Ashley (Shores) will be there to catch it. We’ll get fouled and get to the line and I’m going to come up with a big block and a big steal when I have to.”
Chesley was also impressed with Ellsworth.
“Give Ellsworth all kinds of credit. Coach Pooler does a great job,” Chesley said. “The team was well-coached. They played hard and they’re a great defensive team.”
Pooler said he was “very proud” of his team’s performance and credited Lawrence with “controlling the last four minutes of the game.” He said Mason played the “game of her life.”
Senior Shores finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for Lawrence. Junior forward Tibbetts had three points and 10 rebounds and Lawyerson had four points, three rebounds and two assists.
Senior guard Bagley had a team-high 16 points for Ellsworth. She also had three rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward Atherton finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists, Mason had 10 points and three assists and senior guard Lizzie Boles had four points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
