Top-seeded CA girls beat Royals
Sports Editor
Royals 26
BANGOR — Sparked by a pair of sensational shooting performances by Rachael Grew and Vicki McIntyre, the Central Aroostook girls basketball team took the first step Monday towards its goal of winning a state title.
No. 1 Central Aroostook (17-2 overall) romped to a 60-26 victory over No. 8 Jonesport-Beals (10-10) thanks to Grew’s 23-point effort and McIntyre’s 20-point performance. The Panthers face No. 5 Bangor Christian (16-3) Thursday at 8:35 p.m. in the semifinals. Bangor Christian defeated No. 4 Washburn 41-26 in the other quarterfinal game Monday. The Panthers and Patriots did not face each other during the regular season.
Morgan Beal led Jonesport-Beals with eight points.
“The first half, I wasn’t very pleased,” CAHS coach Rodney Codrey said. “We had a lot of turnovers and didn’t play particularly well. It’s been almost two weeks since we have played a basketball game.”
Despite the coach’s unhappiness with the team’s play early, the Panthers jumped to an 11-1 lead in the first five minutes of the game as Grew knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, with Chelsea Hartin chipping in with a trey of her own and Kristin Long adding a pair of free throws.
The Royals came roaring back, when Central Aroostook backed off its defensive pressure, which allowed Jonesport-Beals to cut the lead to 12-8 to end the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Panthers got back to the basics of playing tight defense, holding the Royals to just four points while forcing numerous turnovers. CAHS capitalized on those turnovers pushing its lead to 29-12 at halftime.
After the break, Grew, a 5-foot, 4-inch sophomore, went on a scoring rampage, netting nine of her 23 points in the quarter. The bulk of her points came from the foul line, where she converted five of seven free throws. She also hit her fourth 3-pointer for the game and added a jumper.
The fourth quarter belonged to McIntyre, a 5-8 sophomore, who tallied 13 of her 20 points in the period. McIntyre made four field goals and was 5-of-6 from the foul line.
As a team, the Panthers made 19 of 28 foul shots (68 percent), while Jonesport Beals made six of 19 free throws (32 percent).
Codrey said when his team faces the Patriots on Thursday, containing Bangor Christian’s Whitney Holmes will be a challenge. Holmes netted 26 points in the Patriots victory over Washburn Monday.
“We will need to get out and pressure the ball,” Codrey said. “I’m a big guy for pressing the ball. If your offense isn’t going well, that’s no excuse for how your defense is going.”
Another positive to Monday night’s game was it allowed coach Codrey to play his entire bench, with a number of underclassmen seeing significant playing time on the floor. That playing time could come in handy down the stretch if the Panthers advance to the regional championship Saturday. If CAHS makes it to that game, the team will likely be without two of its starters — twin sisters Brianna and Chelsea Hartin — who are unable to play in that game.
“I tried to play the ones that I will need to play, if we make it to Saturday,” Codrey said. “There are three kids I will rotate in. It was important to get them into the game tonight to get some time on the floor. I told the girls afterwards that every one of them played more on this court than I did. I graduated in 1975 and got about 55 seconds on this floor.”
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
CENTRAL AROOSTOOK’S Kristin Long looks to shoot over a Royal defender during Monday’s 60-26 triumph by the Panthers.
