By Larry Mahoney, BDN Staff
Junior forward Lily Oliver scored a game-high 22 points and her second-seeded Fort Kent High School Warriors forced 45 turnovers en route to a 42-32 victory over 10th-seeded Bucksport in their Class C North quarterfinal at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor Monday night.
Fort Kent, now 15-4, will take on third seed Penobscot Valley High of Howland, 17-2, in Thursday’s 7 p.m. semifinal.
Bucksport wound up 12-8.
Oliver scored 18 of her points in the second half as the Warriors outscored Bucksport 25-12.
The Warriors implemented a 1-3-1 half-court trap and the Bucks struggled mightily against it, especially in the third quarter after standout junior guard Jenna Shook picked up her fourth foul and had to sit the final 6:09 of the quarter.
Senior guard Sam Cyr, one of the team scoring leaders along with Shook, picked up her fourth foul with 2:44 remaining in the third period.
“Our ball handling needs work and when you lose two of your primary ball handlers, that makes things even harder,” said Bucksport coach Ed Hatch.
Shook was outstanding in the first half, leading the team with seven points, eight rebounds and six steals.
When Shook went to the sideline, Oliver took over as she scored the game’s next 10 points, several off steals, to give the Warriors a lead they would never relinquish.
Bucksport cut the lead to four when sophomore guard Addison Goss, who normally starts but saw limited duty due to illness, sank a pair of free throws with 1:03 left in the third period.
But Julia Cyr passed to a wide open Emlyn Nadeau for a 3-pointer and Oliver, a 1,000-point career scorer, finished off a 12-point third quarter for herself with two free throws to make it 36-27.
Bucksport couldn’t get any closer than six the rest of the way.
“I knew we could win this game. I really believed in our defense. So I started playing more aggressively in the second half,” said Oliver. “And when I got the first (basket), the momentum just kept building for me so I kept going.”
Fort Kent coach Kelly O’Leary said when Shook and Cyr picked up their fourth fouls, it made a “big difference.”
Oliver finished with seven steals to go with her 22 points. Julia Cyr and Nadeau had five points each and Cyr also made four steals. Hannah Lovely had six steals and three points. Mia Voisine notched four points and three rebounds. Lily Werntgen had a 3-pointer and a pair of steals.
Shook finished with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds along with seven steals. Cyr had six points and nine rebounds along with four steals. Aivah Tweedie tallied four points and five rebounds. Kaitlynn Flannery had three points and four rebounds and Makayla Miller had three points.
