The Presque Isle girls basketball team defeated Washington Academy of East Machias 42-41 in a Class B North tournament play-in game Tuesday. Eighth-seeded Presque Isle advances to face No. 1 Ellsworth in the quarterfinals at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor at 1:30 p.m., Saturday.
The close home game at Presque Isle High School had fans cheering the Wildcat girls coming off a 9-9 regular season record and having lost their previous game against rival Caribou Vikings 62-28 on Feb. 6.
“I thought that all the girls did their part and they did the little things to win that game,” said Presque Isle Head Coach Krystal Flewelling.
The Wildcats win was a team effort but the winning points came on two foul shots in the fourth quarter by freshman Lenora Curtis. Presque Isle was able to fend off Washington Academy in the seconds leading up to the final buzzer.
Top scorers for the Wildcats were senior Jorja Maynard with 12 points, Curtis netting 9 points, and sophomores Georganna Curtis and Maddy Putnam adding 7 points apiece.
Washington Academy was hot on the heels of Presque Isle with the top scoring Raiders being junior Abigail Maker with 14 points, senior Grace Gray netting 10 points, and junior Reese Crosman scoring 8 points.
The fourth quarter saw a rally from Washington Academy with 16 points scored as Presque Isle maintained its slim lead by scoring 9 points.
“It’s not just one big play at the end, it’s the things in the first quarter that we do well that gets the job done in the fourth quarter,” Flewelling said.
This story was updated with new information
