CARIBOU, Maine — The Caribou boys and girls basketball teams hosted Hermon over the weekend.
On Saturday, Dec. 18, the Caribou girls fell 64-39 to the visiting Hawks, while the boys fell 47-39.
The girls game opened up with aggressive play from both teams, but Hermon was able to snag an early lead over Caribou during the first quarter, ending with a small lead of 12-7. They further widened the gap by the end of the second quarter, ending with 30-19.
Hermon continued the assault into the rest of the game. The Hawks continued to swoop in through the Vikings defenses, ending with a 21-point lead of 51-30 after three quarters. Caribou tried to close the gap, but the Hawks refused to budge, ending the game at 64-39.
For Caribou, Selena Savage led the team with 11 points, followed by Ashlyn Bouchard and Madelynn Deprey with eight points each. Abby Leahy added seven; Mia Theriault had three; and Abby Haney chipped in two.
“Obviously they are a good team, and we struggled a little bit,” said Caribou girls varsity coach Kayla Brown. “They were able to get on the inside and scored a lot there and also made some outside shots too. We have got a lot to work on, we are young, and we have a lot of potential, and I am hoping that we are going to get better every game.”
For Hermon, Maddie Lebel led the Hawks with 24 points, followed by Elizaabeth Wyman with 15. Megan Tracy chipped in nine; Sydney Gallop had six; Allie Cameron added four; and Brooke Gallop, Faith Coombs and Charlotte Caron each had two.
“Caribou are a really well-coached team with a lot of great young talent,” said Hermon girls varsity coach Chris Cameron. “I guess what the difference was, is that we were able to double them up in rebounds, which allowed us to extend our possessions and more shot attempts, and I think running and scoring in transition and hitting the middle zone a couple of times during the second half stretched out the lead and gave us a little separation.”
When the boys varsity teams took to the court, the Hawks continued their winning ways beating the Vikings 47-39.
Caribou started hot, jumping to a 16-5 lead to end the first quarter. However, Hermon was quick to retaliate, scoring an additional 17 points in the second quarter, while limiting the Vikings to just two points for a halftime score of 22-18 in favor of Hermon.
Caribou picked up the pace in the third quarter, making up another 11 points, but Hermon was still able to score an additional 15, closing the quarter at 37-29. Caribou fired on cylinders to power through Hermon’s defenses. However, time just wasn’t on the Vikings side, and despite a series of quick baskets, they fell short 47-39.
For Caribou, Wesley Lapointe led the Vikings with 19 points, followed by Braden Sargent with six; Avery Thibodeau, five; Reece Cavagnaro, three; and Ari Plante, Tristan Robbins and Liam Dee each with two.
“I thought we played well for three quarters,” said Caribou boys varsity coach Kyle Corrigan. “We had a tough second quarter where we only scored two points and they scored 17, which was a big swing in the game. We played hard for all 32 minutes. We are still learning how to play with each other, and this is only our 4th game as a group. We are still learning, but we have a really good group of kids who are very coachable, and I wouldn’t want to coach any other group.”
For Hermon, Jaykob Dow led the Hawks with 18 points, followed up by Trey Brown with 11, and Xavier Girls with 9. Johnny Kokoska contributed another 5 points and Noah Miled chipped in 4.
“I am proud of my kids for battling back,” said Hermon boys varsity coach Mark Reed. “We got in a big hole early. I think you have two similar teams in the sense that we are trying to figure ourselves out. 42 [Lapointe] shot the ball really well for them, and Sargent is a great ball handler. I think our kids did a pretty good job, though we have to work on some game management stuff, but happy to come away with a win.”
CARIBOU, Maine — December 18, 2021 –Caribou’s Avery Thibodeau defends against Hermon’s Xavier Jelks at a basketball game on Saturday. Hermon won 47-39. (David DiMinno | The Aroostook Republican)
CARIBOU, Maine — December 18, 2021 — Caribou’s Braden Sargent makes a dash past Hermon’s Johnny Kokoshka during a basketball game on Saturday. Hermon won 47-39 (David DiMinno | The Aroostook Republican)
CARIBOU, Maine — December 18, 2021 — Caribou’s Abby Leahy looks for a teammate to pass to while being guarded by Hermon’s Elizabeth Wyman durign a basketball game on Saturday. Hermon won 64-39. (David DiMinno | The Aroostook Republican)
