The Youth Basketball of America teams from Aroostook County recently found themselves pushing through the tough competition at the second-half of the state tournament. Held in Waterville, the girls showed the rest of the state their skills, and some teams found themselves qualifying for the national tournament in Florida this summer.
The 11- and 12-year-old team played Wolfington from Waldoboro in the semifinals and came up short, losing the game 67-58. Amanda Hotham led the team with 17 points, Brooke LaBelle contributed 11, and Alexa Massey scored six points.
The Midcoast Madness then played the County team in the Consolation game, with the girls winning 31-26. The team ended up in third place at the end of the tournament. Overall, the girls finished with a 5-4 record. Pacing the scoring attack in their last game were Rachel Grew and Rebecca McDougall, with eight; Massey, with six; Hotham scored five; LaBelle and Olivia Garrison scored two each; Maegan Fitzpatrick and Brea York contributed valuable minutes coming off the bench.
The 13-year-olds also finished third, but worked hard to get there. In game one against the Maniacs from the Brunswick/Topsham area, Kayla Richards and Vicki McIntyre’s baskets in the last minute gave the county girls a 46-44 win. The Maniacs were previously undefeated.
Richards contributed 16 points; Becca Martin, nine; McIntyre had eight; Chelsea Nickerson, seven; Jessica Walker, four; and Casey Bonville scored two.
In the semifinals against the other undefeated team from Skowhegan, the girls trailed at the half, 18-13, but missed layups hurt the local girls, which led to a 48-30 loss. Richards brought in eight points; Martin, seven; and four points each from Nickerson, Wallace and McIntyre; Bonville had two; and Kristen Long scored one point for the County team.
With the loss, the team went to the consolation game against River Valley from Falmouth, and won 48-20, with all eight players scoring six points each. The team overall record was 6-5.
The 14- and 15-year-old girls went directly to the semis based on their 1-1 record from the previous weekend.
In game three against the Maniacs, the County team ran into a much more physical and taller team, losing the game 54-41. Caitlyn Escancy and Vanessa Sanderson, each at eight points, were the top guns for the team. The two top-scorers also had help from Morgan Berube, with seven; Breanna Thibodeau, six; five from Courtney Churchill; Martha McPartland, had four; and Taylor Boucher scored two.
The girls dropped into the consolation game for third place. Unlike their teammates in the other age groups, the 14- and 15-year-olds came up short, losing to the Eagles, 51-47. In a back-and-forth game, an injury to Vanessa Sanderson stalled the County momentum.
After the injury, the team failed to get back on track. Escancy contributed 15 points and Boucher, with 12, led the girls in scoring, but pinching in with points were Thibodeau, with six; Desiree Dow, Churchill and Sanderson, with four each; and McPartland, with two points. The team finishes at 4-6.
The 16-year-olds had to win their prelim to get into the top four. Their opponents were from Calais and Washington Academy, the Revils. The County jumped out with a 22-18 lead at the half, but clutch foul shooting by the Revils pushed them to a 57-53 win.
With all but one player scoring, the County was led by Sarah Long, 13; Whitney Flint, 10; Rachel Torrey, eight; Emily Pelletier, seven; Marissa Albert, five; four points each by Kayla Day and Erica McDougall; and Darryl Ann Giradin tossed in two points.
With the loss, the girls played in the fifth place game and started out slowly, trailing 16-4 after four minutes. However, after a timeout, the County outscored the Bombers 21-0 for a 25-16 lead and never looked back in a 52-28 win.
Long, with 23 points, led the team; Alex Dome contributed nine; Girardin, Flint and Torrey all scored five points each; McDougall, three; and Pelletier scored two points.
The County overall record goes to 11-5. The 11- and 12s, 13s, and 14- and 15- year-old teams all qualify for the National Youth Basketball of America in Polk County, Florida in July.
Coaches for the 11- and 12-year old teams were Dave DeMerchant, Lou Fitzpatrick and Glen Grew. For the 13-year-olds, coaches were DeMerchant and Mike Fogarty. The 14- and 15-year-olds were coached by DeMerchant, Debbie Sanderson and Bert Boucher. The 16-year-old team was coached by DeMerchant, Dan Girardin and Boucher.
