CA girls blitz Shead in opener
By Joseph Cyr
Sports Editor
BANGOR — The mantra of the Central Aroostook girls basketball team this postseason may well be “unfinished business.”
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
HIGH FLYER — Central Aroostook’s Vicky McIntyre, left, soars to the basket for a layup as Shead defender Kirby McPhail tries to block her shot during Saturday night’s Eastern Class D quarterfinal game at the Bangor Auditorium. The Panthers won, 74-38.
Panthers 74
Tigers 38
After falling short in the Eastern Class D championship game a year ago, the Panthers have been eager for the return trip to the Bangor Auditorium. And if Saturday night’s quarterfinal game is any indication, the Panthers have no plans of going home empty-handed this year.
No. 2 Central Aroostook scored early and often en route to a 74-38 quarterfinal victory over No. 7 Shead of East Machias.
The Panthers (now 15-4) face No.6 Deer Isle-Stonington Thursday at 8:35 p.m. in the semifinals. The Mariners (17-2) advanced with a 42-36 victory over No. 3 Schenck (13-6). The Panthers and Mariners did not face one another during the regular season.
“I really would like to see this team get back to the finals,” CAHS coach Rod Codrey said. “As far as I’m concerned, we have unfinished business.”
Against Shead, Vicki McIntyre poured in a game-high 26 points for the Panthers, while Rachael Grew added 19; Kristen Long, 13; Page Fletcher, seven; Kayla Cushman, three; and Sarah Grass, Paige Garrison and Olivia Garrison each had two.
For Shead, Kirby McPhail had 11 points, while Jenny Cushing added seven; Vanessa Patterson, six; Jordyn Turner, four; Randi DeWitt and Halie Harris, three each; and Taylor Cushing and Megan Patterson, both had two.
CAHS sank 13 of 21 free throws (62 percent), while Shead converted 12 of 20 free throws (60 percent).
Despite the lopsided score, Codrey said his team had to play better in the semifinals.
“I didn’t think our 2-3 zone [defense] was very good,” Codrey said. “We’ll see come next Thursday. They [the Panthers] step up sometimes, but sometimes they get lackadaisical. They sit back and let things happen. They don’t have that killer instinct in them just yet.”
The Panthers had plenty of instinct in the first quarter, erupting for a 20-3 lead. In that opening frame, Long and McIntyre controlled the offensive glass and converted those rebounds into points, while Grew was exceptional from the perimeter hitting a 3-pointer and adding a long jumper for five points in the quarter.
Many of the Panthers’ points came off turnovers by Shead, caused by Central Aroostook’s pressure.
“We ran the press for the first four or five minutes, but I did not want to wear the kids out,” Codrey said. “We ran it against Washburn and beat them, but they were hungry that night.”
Staying hungry is something Codrey hopes his upperclassmen will continue to do in the next contest. The coach said he expects to see plenty of zone defense from the Mariners, which means his squad will need to knock down some shots from the perimeter early.
“I believe we will have to step things up on defense,” he said.
TIGERS 3 12 11 12 -38
PANTHERS 20 12 21 21 -74
