GHCA Lady Eagles undefeated

    It was a game of two Class D tournament contenders on Monday night at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
    The Greater Houlton Christian Academy Lady Eagles pit their undefeated record against visiting Washburn, who had only one loss.
    The Lady Eagles led through the first half of play, 19-15, but the Beavers used a 12-6 run in the third to take a 27-25 advantage, setting up a climactic final period.
    GHCA’s sharp shooting Riopel rang home a 3-pointer to put her team ahead by a basket, with four-and-half minutes to play. Then, Washburn’s Kelsee McLaughlin tied the game with a free throw at 32-all. With under four minutes to play, Riopel once again drained a shot from behind the arc.
    Washburn trailed by a point after 6-1 center Rachel Palmer scored. Then, Kari Brewer then went to work for GHCA when she sliced from high to low post on an out-of-bounds play to push the Lady Eagles’ lead to 37-34.
    After a GHCA turnover, McLaughlin made good from the stripe to bring her team to within a point, 37-36.
    In pivotal plays down the stretch, Washburn worked their offense into the hands of Palmer. In her first possession, Palmer caught the ball in the post, but was stripped of it by a collapsing GHCA defense. After GHCA missed a 1-1 situation, Washburn again went to Palmer on the inside with 28 seconds left. She missed her shot, but Riopel grabbed the rebound and was fouled.
    Going to the line, Riopel made the front-end of a 1-1 to put her team in the lead by a basket. Washburn pushed the ball ahead and with time running out, Erica McDougall launched a shot that bounced around the rim, but did not fall, as GHCA escaped with a 38-36 point-worthy victory.
    Riopel finished the game with 13 points, while Kari Brewer tallied 12 points for the winners.
    In the nightcap, one of the two teams would finally break into the winning column, and it was Washburn with a 66-57 victory.
    The Beavers carved out a 19-5 lead in the opening quarter, but the Eagles stormed back to cut the deficit , outscoring Washburn 14-7 to trail at halftime, 26-19. The game became closer in the third, as the Eagles narrowed the scoring gap to 41-37 setting up the final period where the Beavers outgunned GHCA, 25-20 for the win.
    Chad Duff tossed in a game-high 27 points for GHCA.
    For Washburn, a name very familiar to the area, freshman Connor Fitzpatrick of the Houlton Fitzpatricks and son of Louie and Cherri Fitzpatrick scored 12 points.
    In Saturday’s doubleheader with host Wisdom, the GHCA teams came out with a split.
    The Lady Eagles defeated Wisdom, 69-34 behind Kasi Parker’s 18 points and Riopel’s 17. Brewer added a dozen more for the winners.
    In boy’s action, the Eagles lost 63-53, as the Pioneers used 17-of-25 free throws in the second half to post the win.
    The Eagles trailed 26-24 at halftime and kept the game close through the third, 42-37, but couldn’t overcome their hosts, who outscored them 21-16 in the final period.
    Duff led GHCA with 19 points, while Zach Straubel netted 14 more.
    In other boy’s action, the East Grand Vikings were handed an 86-61 loss by visiting Greenville last Saturday.
    The Lakers held a 45-25 cushion at halftime en route to the win.
    Tyler Morse paced East Grand with a phenomenal game-high 41 points.
    Last Wednesday, the GHCA Lady Eagles posted a 52-34 in over visiting Van Buren.
    After an 8-all opening period, the Lady Eagles continued to improve each period, taking a 45-24 third-period lead.
    Riopel had the hot hand with 21 points, while Parker finished with 10 points.