Junior guard Josey Smith only scored three points in Boothbay’s 32 -26 Class C South quarterfinal victory Feb. 19 against Saint Dominic Academy, but boy, it was a big one. No. 1 Boothbay was clinging to a 24-21 lead with 3:14 remaining in the game. Smith lined up a 20-footer and sank it, doubling Boothbay’s lead.

The Seahawks and Saint Dominic Saints were locked in a tight defensive battle from the opening tip to final buzzer. But Smith had no problem hitting a big shot in a big moment. “I was open and he (Coach Blethen) gives us the green light and wants us to shoot, so I shot it,” she said.

For Coach Blethen, the regular season has been all about encouraging his roster to become an offensive threat, especially during a big moment in Augusta. Smith’s basket came as both teams struggled to score anything, whether it was a lay-up, 3-pointer or a foul shot. Unofficially, Boothbay shot 10-45 from the floor or 22 percent, and Saint Dominic shot 10-54 or 18.5 percent. Boothbay’s best quarter was the first. The Lady Seahawks outscored Saint Dominic, 13 to 6.

But the second quarter was an absolute offensive disaster for both teams. Saint center Skye Rogers made a free throw early in the quarter cutting Boothbay’s lead to six, but neither team made a field goal for the quarter’s first six minutes. The two combined to miss 17 shots to start the period (Boothbay 8 and Saint Dominic 9). Seahawk guard Chloe Arsenault scored the quarter’s first field goal extending Boothbay’s lead to nine, but Saint Dominic ended the quarter on a 6-0 scoring run on three dribble penetration drives for lay-ups.

Boothbay outscored Saint Dominic 4 to 2 in the third quarter and entered the final eight minutes leading by five. Saint guard Rebecca Zimmerman scored with 3:56 remaining cutting the margin to three. But Smith responded 40 seconds later with her 3-pointer.

“That was a big momentum shift,” said Coach Blethen. “That let our girls know we were going to be OK. We threw everything we had including the kitchen sink and just couldn’t score. We did a decent job on defense by holding them to our season average, but on offense it wasn’t there. We ran (plays) one, two and motion and nothing went in no matter who shot it.”

Blethen praised the No. 8 Saints and Coach J.P. Yorkey for an outstanding effort in the tournament. “They did their homework and really took Faith and Glory (Blethen sisters) out offensively. I’m proud how we worked through adversity and kept running our offense. I kept telling them to keep running our plays all the way through and something good would happen,” he said.

Arsenault led Boothbay in scoring with 11 points. Other Seahawk scorers were Faith Blethen with 10, Glory Blethen with six, and Maddie Faulkingham with two.

Saint Dominic finishes 11-8. Boothbay (19-0) advances to the regional semifinal at 4 p.m. Feb. 19 versus No. 12 Madison at the Augusta Civic Center.