Girls
Presque Isle 68, Washington Academy 39
The Wildcats picked up their seventh win of the season Monday on the road behind the trio of Emily Wheaton (16 points), Emily Lagerstrom (15) and Skylar Vogel (12). Vogel was effective on the defensive end with five blocked shots and five steals.
“We played very good defense most of the game,” said PI coach Jeff Hudson. “Washington Academy is not as bad as their record indicates.”
The Raiders are now 4-6. PI is 7-3 entering important road games at MDI (today) and Foxcroft (Saturday). Another huge road test follows next Wednesday, Jan. 25 at No. 1 Houlton.
Southern Aroostook 57, Fort Fairfield 27
Sydney Brewer, a freshman, had 17 points as the Class D Warriors improved to 9-0 with the easy home win over the Tigers Monday. Eighth-grader Kacy Daggett and Katelyn Slauenwhite tallied 11 each for the winners, while Fort Fairfield, a Class C team which fell to 5-7. Emma Campbell had 10 points for the Tigers.
Hodgdon 26, Easton 18
Hodgdon limited Easton to a season-low in points, including a scoreless second quarter, for a pointworthy victory in Hodgdon Monday. Kora Lambert dominated inside for the Hawks with 18 rebounds, while Elise Allen had six points for the Bears, who have now lost seven in a row after a 5-1 start.
Fort Fairfield 34, Easton 33 (OT)
The Fort Fairfield girls made it four wins in their last five games by prevailing at home over Easton in overtime Saturday night.
Cammi King-DeMerchant, a freshman, had a career-best 17 points and made some big plays late in regulation and in the extra session to spark the win. She had eight points in the fourth quarter, including a free throw with less than a minute to play to force overtime. She added a field goal and another foul shot in OT to clinch it.
Sadie Edgecomb and DeMerchant each had three 3-pointers for the winners
“We have plenty of points left on our schedule, but need a couple more pointworthy wins to secure a top-12 finish and a lot of our remaining games are tough,” said FF coach Larry Gardner, whose team has made the postseason 18 consecutive seasons.
“We’ve gotten better. We’ve done a better job on the boards and the freshmen are playing a little better,” he added, “but there is still plenty of room for improvement with turnovers and free throw shooting.”
Allen scored eight points and Delia Bonner had seven, including the lone points in overtime, for the Bears, who are still in fifth place in the Class D rankings.
Presque Isle 58, Orono 32
The Wildcats rode the hot shooting of senior Emily Lagerstrom and coasted past the visiting Red Riots Saturday at PIHS.
Lagerstrom hit six of her eight 3-point field goal in the first half and finished with 26 points, along with seven rebounds. She missed only five 3-point attempts the entire game. Junior point guard Wheaton turned in another strong outing with 21 points and seven assists.
“Our team played very hard and it was a near perfect first half of defense,” said Hudson. “We can be a very dangerous team when we shoot like that and it’s a lot of fun.”
Central Aroostook 53, Easton 44
In a battle between two of the top girls’ teams in Class D North Friday, the Panthers took control early and held off a few rallies to sweep the season series against the Bears.
Ashlee Harris scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and Breanne Bradbury tossed in 10 points for the 7-2 Panthers, now in third place in Class D North.
Delaney Leach fired in 21 points for the Bears, who were playing their sixth consecutive game without 5-11 center Sara Gilman, who had been out with an ankle injury.
Fort Kent 44, Fort Fairfield 32
After losing by two points in Fort Fairfield on Dec. 15, the Warriors made amends in the Class C matchup Thursday in Fort Kent thanks to Cassidy Lovley’s 12 points and 10 more from Jordan O’Leary.
Fort Kent, now 8-4 and winners of three straight, bolted to a 14-point halftime lead before the visitors rallied in the third quarter to get close, only to fall short.
King-DeMerchant, a freshman, had 11 points and nobody else on the Fort Fairfield roster had more than four.
Washburn 71, LCS/MSSM 40
The Beavers eased past the Eagles Thursday as Kassie Farley scored 20 points and Maggie Castonguay had 17. Farley scored 15 points in a second quarter which saw the hosts (6-4) stretch a 10-point lead into 20 by intermission.
Freshman Taylor Labreck scored 23 points for the Eagles, with 11 coming from the foul line.
Ashland 38, Van Buren 18
The Hornets held the host Crusaders scoreless in the first quarter and to just four points in the half to move to 4-6 Thursday.
Hornet sophomore Olivia Tardie was the only player in double figures in the game as she totaled 11 points. Leah Gendreau had seven for Van Buren.
Southern Aroostook 46, Easton 36
The Bears stayed close for three quarters on Wednesday, Jan. 11, but the host Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Easton for the second time in a week.
Three SA players reached double figures in scoring, led by Daggett with 12 points. Brewer and freshman Makaelyn Porter added 11 and 10, respectively. The Warriors are in second place, behind only Shead of Eastport, in the Class D North Heal Point standings.
“They got us in early foul trouble which forced us to draw back our pressure,” said Warrior coach Cliff Urquhart. “I thought Easton shot the ball very well in the first half and it really kept them within striking distance.”
Isabelle Morin, who was held scoreless in the first meeting against the Warriors on Jan. 6, tossed in 13 to pace the Bears. Allen scored nine points and Delia Bonner chipped in with eight for Easton.
“We stuck to our 2-3 halfcourt zone most of the game and the girls really worked hard to close out on their shooters,” said Bears’ coach Bryan Shaw. “Isabelle attacked the basket more than ever to draw key fouls, but all our players looked to be a threat offensively.”
Presque Isle 76, Caribou 46
Eight of Presque Isle’s 16 successful 3-point shots came in a 28-point first quarter, leading the Wildcats to an impressive victory over Caribou Tuesday, Jan. 10 at PIHS.
PI ended up 16 for 32 from 3-point land in the contest. Wheaton scored 14 first-quarter points, including four 3s, and finished with a team-high 20 points. Vogel was strong inside and tallied 14 points, while Lagerstrom and Meg Boone fired in four 3-pointers points for their 12-point totals.
“It was great to play at home again and we needed a confidence booster and I think we got it,” said Hudson. “If we can start to play defense consistently and get someone scoring besides Wheaton, we can be a very tough team.”
The Wildcats were coming off a stretch of four road consecutive road games, going 2-2.
“We have three losses, but those losses could have gone either way,” Hudson added. “I am happy with the girls effort and drive lately and think good things are going to happen for us.”
Marquis scored 15 points and Paige Espling added 10 for the Vikings.
Fort Fairfield 50, Hodgdon 28
At Fort Fairfield Tuesday, Jan. 10, King-Demerchant recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Tigers defeated the Hawks, avenging an earlier loss the Hawks on Dec. 23 and increasing their winning streak to three.
“After losing to Hodgdon by 14 two weeks ago, and knowing that Hodgdon was playing extremely well, I was really pleased with the effort our kids displayed on both ends of the floor, especially on the boards,” said Gardner. “We are not big compared to most teams, especially Hodgdon, and when we can out-rebound them, it gives us a chance to win.”
Gardner was impressed with his team’s determination throughout the contest.
“It was the first game where I saw this much effort and the kids showed they wanted to win,” he said.
Three other players had huge outings for the Tigers. Campbell had 12 points and 10 steals, Marissa Brouette 11 points and Hunter St. Pierre 10 rebounds.
Lambert paced Hodgdon with 11 points.
Washburn 56, Van Buren 21
At Washburn Jan. 10, Castonguay had 15 of her 20 points and six steals in the third quarter, breaking open a close game and propelling the Beavers past Van Buren. Farley added 14 points, including six free throws, for the Beavers. Tiffany Morrow’s 13 points, including two 3-pointers, led Van Buren.
East Grand 45, Ashland 42
At Danforth Jan. 10, the Hornets outscored the Vikings 22-6 in the third quarter to come all the way back from a 16-point deficit to tie the score, but East Grand prevailed at the end. Tardie and Hannah Stratton scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Hornets. Sarah Stoddard scored her 1,000th career point in tallying 17 points for the Vikings. Haleigh Shay added 16 points for the winners.
Boys
Washington Academy 73, Presque Isle 67
Kyle Case had 18 points and Sean Seavey a statistical double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds as the host Raiders defeated the Wildcats Monday. Bradley Kinney poured in a career-best 28 points, while Griffin Guerrette (four 3-pointers) and Jake Kinney added 16 and 11, respectively.
Both teams now own identical 6-4 records. The Wildcats are back in action today with a make-up game at No. 1 Mount Desert Island and then they play at Foxcroft Academy Saturday to wrap up an aggressive road schedule.
Hodgdon 57, Easton 56
The Hawks boys prevailed Monday night thanks to a free throw by Daden Palmer with two seconds to play. He had 23 points as the host Hawks improved to 9-4. Jordan Doody had 20 and Jake Flewelling 18 for the Bears, now 7-5.
Orono 61, Presque Isle 50
The Wildcats stayed close for most of the game, even holding the lead early in the fourth quarter, but dropped the Saturday afternoon contest at PIHS.
The frontcourt trio of Bradley Kinney, Patrick Cash and Jacob Kinney all reach double figures in points for PI, tallying 16, 12 and 10, respectively.
Nate Desisto, the leading scorer in the Big East Conference, had 19 to pace the Red Riots, who improved to 7-3.
Both teams are in the top seven in the Class B North rankings, with Orono overtaking PI for the fifth spot.
Fort Fairfield 67, Fort Kent 48
The Tigers featured a balanced offensive attack in their comfortable win at Fort Kent Friday.
Fort Fairfield jumped out to an 11-0 lead and according to coach Logan McLaughlin it was due to the team’s effective full-court pressure defense.
“It typically is a tough place to play, but we came out with a lot of energy and built the big lead, which was a boost,” he said.
Carter Bruce scored 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Ryan Player notched 12 and Chris Giberson 11 for the winners. Eight other players got into the scoring column for the Tigers, who have now won six in a row and are now 8-1 overall.
Fort Fairfield had defeated the Warriors 56-42 at home way back on Dec. 16.
Jacob Daigle scored 16 to lead Fort Kent.
Ashland 24, Van Buren 22
In a low-scoring affair played in Van Buren Thursday, the visiting Hornets turned a halftime deficit into a five-point lead after three quarters and held on to defeat the Crusaders.
The win moves Ashland (4-6) to within 1/10th of a point from cracking the Class D North top-10 in the Heal Point standings, which would get the team into the playoffs for the first time in several years.
Steven Bellanceau scored eight to lead the Hornets and Eric Perreault had 10 for 3-7 Van Buren.
Washburn 61, LCS/MSSM 43
A huge rally in the fourth quarter lifted the Beavers to their fourth win of the season against five losses.
In the game played at Washburn Thursday, senior forward McCall Turner exploded for a career-high 30 points, while teammates Caleb Thompson and Quintin Thompson were also in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively.
Alex Sprague connected on four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points for the Eagles.
Presque Isle 64, Caribou 39
The Wildcats outscored the Vikings in the second quarter, 20-6, and went on to the easy victory in the rivalry contest played Wednesday, Jan. 11.
Presque Isle dominated inside against the much-smaller Vikings, with Wildcat 6-4 center Bradley Kinney leading the charge with 16 points.
“I was very pleased with the guys’ effort,” said PI coach Terry Cummings, whose team improved to 6-2 and has already doubled its win total from last season. “Offensively, I thought we did a good job utilizing our height advantage in the post and Bradley continues his excellent play by controlling the glass at both ends.”
Griffin Guerrette, who did not play in a Jan. 2 game at Fort Kent due to illness and was held scoreless in the loss at Central Jan. 7, bounced back with 15 points against Caribou. Backcourt mate Jonah Hudson hit crucial back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 11 points. Jason Dumais and Pat Cash had strong games off the bench and had eight and six points, respectively.
Caribou was led by freshman Parker Deprey. The 6-foot freshman drained three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Bouchard canned four field goals and totaled nine points and the Vikes combined for just four other field goals in the entire contest against PI’s stifling 1-3-1 half-court zone defense.
“I thought our defense worked well,” Cummings said. “We only had a couple of days of practice this week to implement it, but the guys responded. It was just another great team effort.”
Ashland 56, East Grand 41
The Hornets proved too tough for the host Vikings on Tuesday, Jan. 10 as Bailey Clark and Kyle Beaulier combined for 35 points.
“It was a close game but we made some key plays and defensive stops to pull away in the third quarter,” said Ashland coach Lucas Belanger, whose team improved to 3-6. “Some bench players stepped up big and made shots as well.”
Clark scored 19 points and Beaulier 16 to lead the winning attack. Steven Bellanceau netted nine more. Brady McEwen’s 14 points led East Grand.
Washburn 57, Van Buren 41
It was a four-point game at the end of three quarters, but Washburn’s Quintin Thompson registered 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and Caleb Thompson had a huge outing with 25 points as the Beavers defeated Van Buren Tuesday, Jan. 10. Taylor Soucy had 13 points and Luc Perreault 10 for the Crusaders.
