In the end, Buckfield was simply too big, too quick and too good. The Boothbay girls lost, 61-37, to the Bucks in the Class D South quarterfinal round Feb. 16 at Augusta Civic Center.

But it didn't start out that way. The game's opening minutes looked promising for the Lady Seahawks. Boothbay raced out to a 6-2 lead. Freshman Aryana Gray hit two free throws. Senior Tatum French stole the ball and scored on a lay-up, and Gray converted an offensive rebound into a score, but not much good happened after that.

Buckfield's full-court zone pressure caused numerous Boothbay turnovers. Boothbay got into foul trouble. French was charged with her second foul with 2:22 remaining in the first quarter, and picked her third with 4:24 left in the half. Buckfield led 19-10 after the opening period. 

Boothbay opened the second quarter with a 4-2 "mini-run" on baskets by Lilly Brown and Arabella Hodgdon, but Buckfield dominated the offensive glass gaining numerous baskets in the paint, which was too much for Boothbay's undersized lineup to withstand. At the half, Buckfield led, 34-16. 

"Buckfield killed us with their rebounding," Boothbay coach Bruce Orne said. "They have an experienced club compared to us, four seniors and one junior compared us with our two seniors, one junior, five freshmen and four sophomores. After a slow shooting start, they started to knock a few down which really hurt us."

French was Boothbay's leading scorer this season. She scored a team-high 18, but only had four in the first half. She attributed her slow start to the excitement associated with her first appearance at the Civic Center. "It was so exciting to play on this court. I was so nervous to start, and the foul trouble hurt, too," she said. "I needed a reset and calm down which I did, so I had a better second half."

French also scored a unique experience in scoring a four-point play in the third quarter. She hit a 3-pointer with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter, and was fouled. She made the free throw for the "4-pointer." Gray started the game off with a bang, scoring eight of Boothbay's 10 first quarter points. She finished with 10. 

"I really wanted to win," Gray said after the game. "We worked hard in practice this week, but all you can do is work hard and try your best," she said.

Other Seahawk scorers were Eleanor Erwin with five, and Arabella Hodgdon and Brown with two each. Buckfield had a balanced scoring attack led by Chloe Bennett, with 18; Allysa Breton, 17; and Sarae Devoe with 13.

This was Boothbay's first tournament appearance since the 2019-20 season. Orne said this season, in which his team finished 5-14, was marked by inconsistency. "I thought for the most part we worked hard during the year. At times we didn't, it kind of hurt us," he said. "We are not leaving here satisfied. We are hoping this is the start, and something to build on." 

Buckfield advances to play No. 6 Madison (10-9) in the regional semifinal on Thursday morning.