Queens of the court
Comeback Lady ’Cats
Wildcats repeat as girls’ state basketball champions
GOLD STANDARD
Class B State Champs
Guerrette keys comeback
Staff photos/Joseph Cyr
The Presque Isle girls’ basketball team successfully defended its state basketball titles over the weekend. Presque Isle stopped Lake Region for the Class B crown in a game played at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland. In the photo, Presque Isle sophomore Krystal Kingsbury gives the gold ball a smooch, while classmate and teammate Hannah Graham shows off a winning smile.
Staff photos/Joseph Cyr
WILDCAT TEAMMATES AND COUSINS, Meredith Stewart, left, and Taylor Williams, celebrate after Friday’s win over Lake Region for the gold ball.
PRESQUE ISLE’S Chandler Guerrette scores on a fast-break layup, while Lake Region’s Sydney Hancock tries to defend the play during Friday’s Class B state finals held at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland. The Wildcats came out on top, 51-44.
REBOUNDING ACTION — Presque Isle sophomore Hannah Graham, left, tries to tip the ball away from Lake Region’s Kelsey Winslow during Friday’s Class B state final in Portland.
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
PORTLAND — Facing a double-digit deficit early in the second half, the Presque Isle Wildcats adjusted their defense and let senior guard Chandler Guerrette shoulder much of the offensive load en route to a 51-44 victory over Lake Region in the Class B state basketball championship game played at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
PI changed to a 2-3 half-court zone early in the second half after its man-to-man defense was unable to handle the Lakers’ big players throughout the first half. Six-foot-two junior center Kiana-Jo Carter and 5-10 senior forward Kelsey Winslow had their way over the first 16 minutes of play by combining for 24 of their team’s 29 points. Lake Region hit its final five shots of the second quarter to take a 29-18 lead, before Presque Isle’s Megan Ireland nailed a 25-foot desperation three-pointer as the halftime buzzer sounded. Still, the Wildcats trailed by eight halfway through the contest and faced an uphill climb.
The Wildcats had tried a zone early in the second quarter, but a three-pointer by Sarah Hancock and a 16-footer by Sierra Hancock forced PI to abandon that strategy. However, they went back to it early in the third and it paid off.
“Their bigs were eating us up, so we packed it in and knew their guards weren’t going to make everything they threw up there,” said PI sophomore forward Hannah Graham.
Sydney Hancock did get a three to fall 50 seconds into the third quarter, but after that the Lakers went cold. They connected on just one of their next 11 shots over the next eight minutes and 53 second of play.
“[Their zone] did a number on our tempo,” said Lake Region coach Paul True. “Their coach [Jeff Hudson] did a great job making adjustments and I didn’t, and that was the bottom line.”
Meanwhile, Presque Isle still needed to generate some offense, and more often than not it was Guerrette who answered the call. After making only one of her first four attempts in the first quarter, the 5-5 senior started getting comfortable. She scored 10 in the second on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor to keep her team within range, and she continued her strong play after intermission.
“They took us out of our game in the first half and we had no open threes, other than the one Megan hit that beat the buzzer,” Guerrette said. “The high screen that Meredith [Stewart] was setting for me at the foul line was working pretty well and I got some open shots.”
With Carter an intimidating force underneath, Guerrette stopped short of taking the ball to her and the eight-foot jumpers kept falling.
“Sometime during the second quarter, coach [Tim] McCue said I had to put the team on my back right now, and I took what he said to heart,” Guerrette added.
The Big East co-player of the year, Eastern Maine tourney MVP and Miss Maine Basketball finalist scored 21 of her team’s 26 second-half points. At one point she tallied 12 in a row, a spurt that included a 15-footer with 6:32 to play in the game that gave Presque Isle its first lead of the game (37-36).
A layup by Sydney Hancock gave the Lakers the lead back 15 seconds later, but it was shortlived. Guerrette rebounded Hancock’s missed free throw and took the ball all the way in for a layup to put PI back on top. Winslow hit a foul shot with 5:05 left to knot the score at 39, but Guerrette scored on a drive to the hoop and then hit two free throws for a four-point advantage with 3:26 remaining.
Lake Region got back to within a point when Carter scored inside with 1:28 left, but Presque Isle called a timeout with 59 seconds left and designed a play. Guerrette was the decoy as Graham used a screen at the foul line and grabbed an Ireland lob pass for a layup and her first field goal of the game.
“My offense wasn’t working and I had a lot of turnovers throughout the game and was getting frustrated, but [coach Ralph Michaud] chose the play for me and I knew I needed to take the opportunity and do what I could with it,” Graham said. “Megan made a perfect pass and I just laid it in.”
The Wildcats were able to set up their press and Graham got a steal and effectively iced the game by converting a pair of foul shots with 49 ticks left on the clock.
“We spend a lot of time practicing those and I’d been nailing them and knew I was ready,” she added.
Guerrette, who had tied a Class B state finals record with 14 field goals in the game, had missed five of her first six free throw attempts but nailed two in a row with 20 seconds remaining to close out her dominating 33-point performance.
“[Guerrette] was a handful,” True said. “We did a great job taking away their threes, but it was pick your poison. We were hoping to get her out of her offensive rhythm in the second half, but it just didn’t happen … she’s a great player.”
Ireland, who followed up her second-quarter three-pointer with another to end the third which again just barely beat the buzzer and cut Lake Region’s lead from six to three at the time, finished with 12 points.
“Those were a couple really big shots that she hit,” Hudson said.
Carter finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds, to go along with four blocked shots, but she had just four points in the second half. Winslow scored 14 points, but 11 of those came in the first half.
“We had more defenders in the paint and knew we had to be physical with Carter, and I think we got in her head a little bit and they couldn’t play as effectively as they did before,” Guerrette said.
Hudson was proud of his team and after the game admitted he was still a bit in shock with how things played out. He did say it wasn’t a total surprise based on the team’s track record.
“We always make a run and we just kept waiting and waiting and finally did,” he said. “Our zone worked and our press started bothering them too. They got a little nervous and we tired them out, and our girls can run all day.
“They are gutsy and even when we were way down they didn’t flinch,” he said. “This group is a bunch of winners. I’ve said it a thousand times, but it’s true and it definitely showed tonight.”
