Houlton girls compete in tourneys

The Houlton girls 5-6 grade travel team competed in two basketball tournaments recently, playing teams from Bangor, Brewer, Orono, Old Town, MDI, Hermon, Hartland, Carmel/Levant, Rockland, Dexter, Ellsworth, Presque Isle and Glenburn.
The weekend of March 7, the girls played at the Old Town/Orono YMCA Bob Messier Invitational Basketball Tournament. They started off in pool play with a tough loss against a solid Old Town team, followed by victories over Glenburn 28-12, and Hermon 15-12, giving Houlton a no. 4 seed for the playoffs.
In the quarterfinal game, it was a rematch against Hermon, and the young Lady Shires played a tough defensive game, only allowing 14 points to win 27-14. Emily Mooers led Houlton with 10 points, Chelsea Gentle had six points and Madeline Anderson along with Megan Collett each had four points in the victory.
Houlton then squared off against a very talented and tall Bangor team. Houlton started off the first quarter strong down 8-5. Bangor then turned up the defensive pressure and only allowed four points for the remainder of the game in the 34-12 loss.
The weekend of March 21 found the Lady Shires traveling to the Bangor Y Maine Basketball Festival, which was held at the University of Maine at Orono where 16 teams competed in two different divisions.
The first game of pool play pitted Houlton against Hartland, and the Lady Shires came out strong and didn’t look back, winning 31-13. Houlton’s team had a balanced scoring attack with eight of the 12 players scoring. Emily Mooers led all scoring with eight points, Anderson tossed in seven, while Natalie Hill and Katie Condon each scored four.
Next Houlton faced off against Carmel and they again started strong with a 16-9 lead at half time, and finished out the game with a 25-16 victory. Anderson led all scorers with 10 points, Condon followed with six and Hill tossed in four. The Lady Shires’ outstanding overall team defense had only given up 29 points in their first two games.
In the final game of pool play, Houlton squared off against a scrappy Glenburn team. The Shires came out strong with a 15-7 lead at halftime, but struggled against Glenburn’s full-court pressure in the second half, with Houlton leading Glenburn, 20-19 with just 30 ticks left on the clock. The Shires called time out, set up a play from near half court. Hill inbounded the ball by making a strong pass to Condon in the corner, who then penetrated and scored a layup, giving Houlton a three-point edge. The Lady Shires defense forced a turnover and Anderson finished a fast-break layup, sealing the victory, 24-19.
The Lady Shires again had a balanced scoring attack with eight players in the books. Anderson led the team with six, Condon and Gentle had four apiece, while Hill, Emma Drew, Emily Dickison and Emily Mooers each tossed in a field goal.
The semifinals had Houlton squaring off against a very physical Winterport team, and Houlton had a 16-12 edge at halftime. The Lady Shires outscored Winterport 18-10 in the second half to give them the 34-22 victory. Again, the Lady Shires’ defense was the determining factor in the outcome, with numerous steals in the second half. Anderson led all scorers with 16 points, followed by Mooers with eight points, Condon with six and Hill tossed in five. Houlton’s stifling defense again proved lethal for Winterport’s ball handlers and Lily Hanning led the way with her defensive pressure.
In the championship game, it was Houlton versus Hermon, for their third matchup in two weeks. The game was a defensive battle throughout, as well as a low-scoring affair, as both teams played tough defense.
The Shires had to work for every point and held a one-point lead at halftime, 10-9.  Houlton then played a box-in-one to stop the penetration of Hermon’s strong ballhandler. Hanning bore the brunt of that task with help from Gentle.
Houlton struggled with breaking Hermon’s full-court press and, in the last 90 seconds, Houlton found themselves down by three, 19-16. Hermon had the ball, but Houlton defense forced a turnover. A timeout was called, a play drawn up, but Houlton just could not convert the basket and Hermon scored again on fast break, giving them the 21-16 victory, proving the old adage that it’s tough to beat a good team three times in a row.
The 5-6 grade Lady Shires team consists of nine fifth-graders and three sixth-graders: Natalie Hill, Evelyn Pratt, Madeline Anderson, Emily Mooers, Emily Dickison, Lily Hanning, Emma Drew, Allix Hanson, Chelsea Gentle, Katie Condon, Megan Collett, and Mariah Boyd.