The Boothbay girls basketball team hadn't played a game in two weeks and it showed early in the Lady Seahawks’ Feb. 20 Class C quarterfinal game against Mount Abram. No. 2 Boothbay managed only one field in the game's first four minutes and 15 seconds.  But Boothbay's rust vanished in the second quarter as the team scored 22 points and raced passed the No. 10 Roadrunners to post a 60-21 victory. Boothbay's win sets up a rematch with No. 3 Monmouth Academy at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23.

Monmouth Academy is the only team to defeat Boothbay this season. On Jan. 21, the Mustangs defeated Boothbay 49-36 in Monmouth. Boothbay starter Faith Blethen missed the game due to a sore Achilles tendon. Boothbay won the first match-up, 44-37, on Dec. 22 at Porter Memorial Gymnasium. In winning the Class C South championship last year, Boothbay’s only loss was to Monmouth and the two teams also met in the semifinals.

The Seahawks’ quarterfinal was against a familiar opponent in a familiar location. On Dec. 27, Mount Abram hosted Boothbay in a regular season contest at the Augusta Civic Center. Boothay won 75-27. But early in their tournament tussle both teams struggled to score. Boothbay had only one field goal in the game’s first four minutes and 15 seconds. Mount Abram had less success on offense scoring only one basket and trailed 10-2 after one quarter.

Boothbay senior forward Lexi Welch thought the layoff was the main reason for the team’s early struggle scoring.

“We needed to refocus our attention,” she said. “Once we focused on ball movement and rebounding everything started to fall into place.”

Boothbay returned all but one player from last year’s regional championship team so playing at the ACC is nothing new for this year’s squad. Senior forward Nicole Clarke enjoys the atmosphere of playing a tournament game in a big venue.

“Even for a quarterfinal game the crowd is large and the atmosphere also makes it an incredible place to play,” she said.

Despite Boothbay's early offensive struggles, three Seahawks scored in double figures. Junior forward Page Brown and sophomore forward Faith Blethen led the team in scoring with 15. And junior guard Sydney Meader scored 14. Other Seahawk scorers were Welch, 2; Clark, 1;  Jo Shaw, 2; Kate Friant, 8; and Chloe Arsenault, 3.

No. 10 Mount Abram upset No. 7 Hebron Academy to qualify for the tournament. The Roadrunners finish the season 11-9. Boothbay is now 18-1.