GSA Eagle girls fall short in Class C Regional final

BANGOR – George Stevens Academy’s 18-point fourth quarter was not enough to overcome a six-point third quarter deficit, falling to the fifth-seeded Dexter Tigers, 32-35, in the Class C North Girls Regional final game February 25 at the Cross Insurance Center.

Sophomore Julianna Allen knocked down a three to close the gap to five with just under 4:30 left to play in the game, a shot head coach Bill Case said was a momentum changer for his second-seeded Eagles.

“I thought that was a big moment,” said Case. “Morgan [Dauk] hit a layup that they waved off a few minutes after that, which was also a game changer late in the fourth because the momentum was swinging in our direction.”

Scoring just 10 points in the first half, the Eagles stepped up the intensity on both ends of the floor.

“They [Dexter] were holding the ball [on offense], so we had to bring out the defense to man-to-man so that we could put more pressure on the ball,” said Case.

The Eagle’s offense came alive toward the end of the third quarter, and with two minutes to play in the fourth George Stevens was down by just three points. Dexter added a few insurance buckets with some clutch foul shots down the stretch, but it was the Eagles who had the last shot, a Hail Mary from the top of the key that came out of Emma Crosby’s hands right after the final buzzer.

For Case, though, the journey to the regional finals has been a great one this year.

“Its been amazing,” said Case. “I have a great group of girls, I couldn’t have asked for a better season.”

Dauk led the Eagles with 21 points and six rebounds, while Allen had seven points and six assists.

The Eagles finished the regular season with a 16-2 record, and a tournament record of 2-1, with a quarterfinal win over Calais and a semifinal win over Piscataquis.