Top-ranked PI girls roll over Bapst, 86-31
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
BANGOR — If the Presque Isle girls basketball team plays with the intensity it showed Saturday, an extended stay in Bangor should be in the mix.
SWATTED — Wildcat Kayla Richards, 
left, takes a swipe at the ball as John Bapst’s Tessa Lilley brings the ball up the court.
No. 1 Presque Isle (19-0 overall) used smothering defense and exceptional shooting to power its way to an 86-31 shellacking of No. 9 John Bapst Saturday afternoon in an Eastern Class B quarterfinal. Presque Isle also beat Bapst in the two previous games this season 71-15 and 42-24. The Crusaders finish with a 10-10 record.
With the win, the Wildcats advance to today’s semifinal game against No. 4 Gardiner (16-3) at 8:35 p.m. The two teams did not meet during the regular season.
How impressive was the Wildcats performance? Presque Isle’s total of 86 points was just four shy of tying the Class B girls record of 90 points in a single game, set by George Stevens Academy in 1999. Had the Wildcats kept their starters in, the team could have eclipsed the single-game record, regardless of division, of 98 points scored by Calais in 1997.
Nearly every Wildcat got in on the action, with 11 of the 12 players on the roster scoring points. Chandler Guerrette led the Wildcats with 15 points, while Hannah Graham chipped in 11 points and Karlee Bernier and Krystal Kingsbury each added 10.
For John Bapst, Paige Martin scored 12 of her team’s 31 points. Emily Tilton added 11.
Presque Isle coach Jeff Hudson said his game plan coming into the game was simple.
“Run, run, run,” he said. “You can’t play a slow-down game with Bapst, so we worked on pushing the ball up the floor.”
The Wildcats did precisely that, playing swarming defense that caused numerous turnovers in the first half. The Wildcats outscored the Crusaders 18-2 in the first quarter and held a commanding, 46-7, halftime lead.
Coach Hudson added he was extremely pleased with the effort his team put forth on both ends of the court, particularly in the first half.
“That first half, we were just about perfect,” Hudson said. “Our defense was good. We boxed out. We rebounded and we made shots.”
The coach said the show his squad put on in the first half was a glimpse of the team’s true potential.
“We knew what we had to work on coming to the tournament,” he said. “The last couple of years, we got beat because we didn’t rebound well.”
If there was one negative to take from the game, Hudson said it was free throw shooting. The Wildcats converted 14 of 23 free throws (61 percent), while John Bapst made 11 of 16 foul shots (69 percent).
JOHN BAPST (31)
Lilley 0 0-1 0, Tilton 4 2-5 11, Pyne, True 0 2-2 2, Paul, O’Donnell, Miller, Higgins 0 2-2 2, Martin 4 3-6 12, Campbell 1 0-0 2, Hayman 0 2-2 2. Totals: 9 11-16 31. 3-pointers — Tilton, Martin.
PRESQUE ISLE (86)
Ireland 4 4-4 14, Nickerson 2 0-0 4, Guerrete 6 2-2 15, Bernier 4 0-0 10, Ackerson, Richards 2 0-0 4, Buck 1 1-2 4, Graham 4 1-1 11, Girardin 1 1-2 3, Kingsbury 3 4-8 10, Cheney 1 0-0 2, Stewart 4 1-4 9. Totals: 32 14-23 86. 3-pointers — Ireland 2, Bernier 2, Graham 2, Guerrette, Buck.
Crusaders 2 5 20 4—31
Wildcats 18 28 19 24—86
