By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
The first round of the Caribou-Presque Isle rivalry basketball games went in the Wildcats’ favor.
Last Wednesday, the Wildcat boys needed a big comeback to defeat Caribou, 53-45. PI trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter before 6-8 junior center Bradley Shields took over inside after being held to two points before intermission.
Presque Isle went ahead by four after three quarters and held on in the fourth. Shields finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots, while senior guard Jonah Stephenson also had 17 points.
Dayne Savage scored 16 points and Derek Richardson 13 for the Vikings.
The Vikings won their other two recent contests. In Saturday’s 67-60 win at home over Hermon, Richardson tossed in 15 points and Savage and Matt Milliard had 14 and 12, respectively. On Monday, in a road make-up game at Fort Kent, Caribou scored a 71-55 triumph behind Savage’s 24 points. He hit all nine free throws he took in the contest. Milliard had 16 for the 7-4 Vikes, currently the No. 7 team in Eastern Maine Class B.
The Wildcat girls had no trouble during last Tuesday’s 80-22 home win over Caribou. PI senior guard Megan Ireland scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the first quarter, while senior guard Chandler Guerrette tallied 15 points and freshman reserve center Regan Nelson added 10 to lead the undefeated Wildcats.
Alexa Massey scored eight points to pace Caribou’s offense.
Caribou bested Fort Kent Thursday, 44-43, on a buzzer-beating shot by junior forward Delaney Williams. She finished with eight points, while Rebecca McDougal led the charge with 15. On Saturday, the Vikes fell to Hermon, 55-35. McDougal had eight points and Aneesha Hersey seven in the loss.
Caribou is in 11th place in EM Class B with its 3-8 record. The top 13 teams in the division qualify for the post-season.
The Washburn girls still lead the way in EM Class D with their 11-0 record. Fort Fairfield, who took on No. 2 Hodgdon in a crucial matchup last night in Fort, was fourth. Limestone-MSSM is in eighth place out of 22 teams, with the top 15 qualifying for the playoffs.
The Beavers remained unbeaten following Monday’s 76-42 home win over Greater Houlton Christian Academy. Mackenzie Worcester, a sophomore guard, netted 19 points, while Carmen Bragg had 10 and Carsyn Koch and Laina Mette nine each for Washburn.
Colby Walker’s 14 points paced the Eagles.
Washburn had also beaten Fort Kent last Tuesday, 67-55, with Worcester’s 26 points leading the charge for the winners. Koch scored 16 and Bragg and Nicole Olson had 11 each. Abby Bouchard had a huge game for the Warriors with 13 points and 15 rebounds. On Friday, the Beavers cruised past Van Buren, 64-34, as Koch and Worcester had 14 points each. Koch also had seven rebounds and Bragg had 10 points and seven assists. Parise Rossignol, VB’s high-scoring junior guard, scored 15 points before leaving the game with an ankle injury in the final period.
Fort Fairfield nipped Fort Kent Saturday, 43-42, as senior guard Sydney Churchill notched 13 second-half points and finished with a game-high 15. Nicole Giberson sparked the Tigers with 10 points. The Tigers were nine points better than Katahdin last Tuesday with the 50-41 win as Jessica Goshorn had 14 points to lead the charge. It was the 200th win as a girls’ coach for Larry Gardner and the 301st of his coaching career.
On Thursday, the Tigers got past Easton, 27-22. Nobody on either team hit for double digits in scoring, but Fort’s Whitney McNamee came the closest with nine.
Limestone-MSSM downed Wisdom Thursday, 67-25, as Jordyn Hopkins had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the way. Chelsey Pelkey scored 13 points and Alexis Bell 10 for the Eagles.
Limestone-MSSM hosts Fort Fairfield Thursday in a big showdown which is a make-up game from earlier in the season.
Undefeated Washburn is in fourth in the boys’ Class D rankings, while FF is eighth and Limestone-MSSM 13th. The top 15 teams will qualify for the post-season.
The Beavers’ Mitchell Worcester hit the 50-point milestone for the second time this season during last Wednesday’s 76-65 triumph over Fort Kent. He scored 50, a Washburn District High School gymnasium record, as the Beavers remained undefeated despite having two key players, sophomore Cameron Bragg and freshman Jarrett Olson, out with injuries.
He also had 18 points, while Noah Caron and Kenny Irving added 10 and nine, respectively, in the team’s 52-38 win at home Friday over Van Buren.
The Fort Fairfield Tigers lost to Katahdin Monday, but on Saturday the team picked up an important 72-65 home win over Fort Kent behind Hunter Beaulieu’s 26 points and seven assists. Andrew Lewis also had a big game for FF with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Plourde had 26 and Charles Nadeau 18 to lead FK.
Limestone-MSSM gained a 59-23 victory over Wisdom Thursday for its second of two wins this past week. Bret Butler and Tristan Kirk led the offense with 14 points each, while Nate Tucker had a strong floor game with 11 points, four steals and four assists.
Last Tuesday, the Eagles upended Fort Fairfield, 57-50, behind Tucker’s 19 points. Dean Clavet added 14 for Limestone-MSSM. Andrew Lewis scored 12 for the Tigers.
