Eastern A and B almost entirely held form in the first round, as the top three seeds advanced in both brackets. The only "upset" was No. 5 Oxford Hills beating No. 4 Bangor in Eastern A. Here's a look at the semifinal matchups, all of which will be played Wednesday:

EASTERN A

No. 3 Cony vs. No. 2 Morse: Cony won both meetings in the regular season by shutting down Morse star Jill Henrikson, and therefore shutting down Morse's offense. The Rams won the first meeting 51-28 and took the second, 44-31. It's tough to pick against defense like that. I think Cony has too many more weapons and is much more comfortable playing at the Augusta Civic Center than is Morse, so I'll go with the Rams.

No. 5 Oxford Hills vs. No. 1 Lawrence: This is a tough game to predict, because Oxford Hills is a tough team to figure out. The Vikings have a lot of athleticism, and a lot will depend on how well they're shooting. I wouldn't be shocked to see an upset, but Lawrence has five starters who play with poise, and two of them are Brogan Liberty and Alexa Bernatchez, who are both tough inside. Those two always seem to get space for their shots down low, and I think that will be the case again, so I'm going with Lawrence in a close game.

EASTERN B

No. 3 Mattanawcook vs. No. 2 John Bapst: I picked Mt. View to beat John Bapst in the quarterfinals, and that pick was, well...not a very good one. Bapst won that game by 22, while Mattanawcook similarly handled Belfast in its quarterfinal game. I was planning on picking Mattanawcook, but I'm still concerned that the Lynx scored only 37 points in losing to Bapst by eight in a late-season meeting. In a toss-up game, I go with Bapst and its defense.

No. 4 Erskine vs. No. 1 Waterville: If any team is mentally prepared to play Waterville, it's Erskine, The Eagles have a carefree, nothing to lose attitude, and it's not an act. But their strength is defense, and Waterville scored 70 points against them when they met in the regular season. Erskine is a good team and a marvelous story, but Waterville is a better team right now, so I have to go with the Purple Panthers.