Shires drop two, now 1-3

    The Houlton Shiretowners are facing a rough start to their 2007-08 playoff drive, as they dropped another point-worthy game last Wednesday night.
    The visiting Shires were outplayed by the Presque Isle Wildcats, 59-37.
TAKING IT STRONG – GHCA senior guard Sarah Riopel goes up for a fast-break layup, while Hodgdon’s Sam Carpenter tries to defend the shot.
    The Wildcats’ Adam Kingsbury was the most dominant player in the game, establishing his interior game early against the Shires, as he scored (12) all of Presque Isle’s first period points.
    “Adam is a very talented ball player,” said Houlton coach Mike Fogarty. “Presque Isle didn’t do anything we didn’t expect.”
    But the difference in coach Fogarty’s eyes was the fact that his team was slow reacting to their help-side defense, especially in the low post.
    “This is something we work on every single night,” Fogarty explained. “No excuses. We just did not get the job done.”
    The game was tied at 12-all to end the opening period and once getting the lead, the Wildcats nursed a 20-16 halftime advantage.
    To begin the second half, trouble mounted for the Shiretowners, and other Wildcat players became offensive minded, spelling a deep hole for Houlton to try to dig their way out, as Presque Isle outscored the visitors, 17-4 to take a 37-20 lead in the final quarter of play.
BATTLE FOR BALL – GHCA’s Sarah Riopel and Kasi Parker struggle against Hodgdon’s Melissa Quint last Firday at Hodgdon.
    “On the offensive end, we did not control the tempo,” said Fogarty. “We found ourselves out of position most of the time, which resulted in either a turnover or a hurried shot. We also allowed them second opportunities on their offensive end.”
    When the Shiretowners started falling behind, they attempted to press Presque Isle.
    “They had no problem with our pressure defense,” Fogarty said. “We had to try and put some pressure to see if we could get a steal, turnover or hurry their shot, but our gamble didn’t pay off.”
    Russ Mortland followed Kingsbury’s 20-point performance with 13 of his own points. Leading Houlton was Ryan Hill with 12 points.
    The Shiretowners lost to visiting Lee Academy on Saturday, 64-48.
    “Lee Academy is a very athletic team.  They were able to beat us up and down the court which resulted in easy transitional lay-ups,” said Fogarty.
    The Shires now face the Wildcats at home for the second time in a week at 7 p.m. tonight.
    “Our goal will be to try and contain Adam (Kingsbury) from having a big night.”
    Looking like they may be behind the eight ball at Christmas break, where do the Shires go from here?
    “I believe we have to go back to our three Es from last year,” said Fogarty. “Energy, Effort and Execution. The emphasis will be on the execution.”
    Fogarty said his squad has been working hard in practice, but they need to carry that into game day.