Mattanawcook Academy girls overpower Machias in C North action

The No. 4 Mattanawcook Academy Lady Lynx overwhelmed No. 5 Machias with their speed and size in Tuesday  night’s Class C North regional quarterfinal matchup, outscoring the Bulldogs by 21 in the second half on the way to a 70-40 victory at the Cross Center in Bangor.

Mattanawcook Academy will play the winner of No. 1 Dexter and No. 8 Mount View on Thursday, Feb. 22, while Machias finished its season with an impressive 18-2 record.

In the first half, the Lynx and Bulldogs started out pretty evenly matched, but Mattanawcook gradually wore out Machias with its deep bench and run-and-gun offense, commanded by lanky sophomore guard Megan House (nine points, seven assists) in the backcourt and dominant sophomore forward Addison Cyr (28 points, five offensive rebounds) in the frontcourt.

The Lynx were equally as consistent in transition and in their half court offense, repeatedly feeding Cyr and senior forward Kaitlyn Thornton (12 points, three offensive rebounds, three assists) for quick-hitting baskets, and cleaning up the offensive boards when necessary.

Junior forward Lily Wotton and sophomore guard Juliana Cloukey combined for 13 additional Mattanawcook points.

Machias countered with tenacious senior forward Skyler Tinker (10 points, two offensive rebounds, one block), intelligent junior point guard Maleah Rhodes (six points) and versatile junior forward Laylah Wright (six points, three offensive rebounds, one assist, one steal).

Machias senior guard Kristin Grant would tack on four points, one assist, and one steal, and junior forward Cassandra Dahl tallied six points.