County YBOA teams play tournaments at UMO and Husson

    The County YBOA eighth grade basketball team finished with a 2-1 record Feb. 26-28 in Bangor. Competing against 11 other teams in the Bangor Tournament played at the UMO athletic complex. The County handled themselves very well.     In game 1 against the host Bangor Y team, the County jumped out to an 18-12 lead at halftime, behind Alexa Massey of Caribou, who had 12 points. In the second half, Marina Cameron of Houlton hit 5 of 5 from the foul line as well as two other baskets, and the county hung on for a 33-27 win. Massey totaled 14 points and Cameron put in nine. Rebecca McDougal of Caribou paced the County with five points. In game 2, the County pressed their way to a 48-9 halftime lead against the Warriors of Island Falls and coasted to a 77-26 win.     All nine players scored for the County with Katelyn Bubar of Woodland leading with 23 points. McDougal netted 11 points, Sydney Churchill of Fort Fairfield contributed 11, Kendra Stephens, Cameron and Massey each put in six and Kristin Tarr of Southern Aroostook had four. Tori Hanson of Houlton and Mariah Wiley of Hodgdon put away three.
    With the win, the County clinched first place in their division and a quarterfinal game against Old Town. Old Town led 12-11 at halftime, and the teams traded baskets throughout most of the second half. The County went ahead 28-27 with 25 seconds to go on a basket by Massey. A foul committed by the County with 11 seconds left sent Old Town to the foul line for two shots. Now trailing by one point, the County missed their final attempt and suffered a 29-28 loss. Massey’s 15 and McDougal’s seven points led the County. Also scoring two points each were Churchill, Cameron and Bubar.
    The three high school county YBOA girls’ basketball teams had a good weekend in their respective games. The 14’s played in the John Doucette Tournament at Husson College and won two and lost two. Game one against Hermon was a 47-24 win. The County’s full court press was too much for their opposition. Marina Cameron led the way with 10 points and Rebecca McDougal and Katelyn Bubar each tossed in eight points apiece.Game two was a heartbreaking 35-33 loss to Old Town. Old Town scored a basket in the last 15 seconds to pull this one out. The County hurt their chances going 1-for-9 from the foul line. McDougal, Bubar, Cameron and Sydney Churchill each had six points.
    In game three against a physical Brewer team, the County shot 11-of-25 from the free throw line and hung on for a 31-28 win. The win put them second in their division and pitted the County against the Presque Isle Wildcats in the quarterfinal round. Bubar with eight points, Alexa Massey with six and Tori Hanson with five were the top scorers in the Brewer win.
    The quarterfinal game against P.I. was a thrilling game. Again, foul shooting played a big factor in this one. The County shot 9-for-20 and lost 34-33. Massey and McDougal each had nine points. Kristin Tarr led the team in assists while Kendra Stephens had the most rebounds. Mariah Wiley had the most 3-pointers. The County record goes to 4-3.
    The County’s 15’s and 16’s played Sunday at Colby College with each team playing three games and both teams going 2-1.     The 15’s lost their first game to the Wave 40-36 after only one practice. Vicki McIntyre had 15 points and Chelsea Nickerson chipped in with nine. McIntyre and Nickerson were the top scorers. Game two against the Fusion was a 37-19 win as the team started playing together much better. The top gunners were Nickerson with 11 points, McIntyre with 10 and Amanda Hotham with nine.         Game three against a tough Northstars team was a complete domination by the County with a 45-12 win. Leading the way were Amanda Fogarty with 16 points and Rachel Grew, who put in 10. All eight players scored. Danielle Tracy and Kayla Richards ran the offense and had numerous assists while Brooke LaBelle led the way in steals with 10. The team record goes to 2-1.
    The 16’s opened their season with a 35-28 win over the Shock. Balanced scoring paced the offense with Olivia McNally of Katahdin, Liz Goodall of Southern Aroostook, Martha McPartland and Vanessa Sanderson, both of Houlton, all putting in seven points each.         Game two’s opponent was the Northstars and after a close game throughout, the County suffered a 28-27 loss. Top scorers were Erin Dugal of Madawaska with eight points and Sanderson with six.
    Game three was an easy 40-19 victory over the Pink Panthers. Evangeline Goodall of Southern Aroostook had 12 points, while McPartland put in nine and Liz Goodall contributed seven. Lauren McGary lead in rebounds throughout the day. Both teams play at St. Joe’s College and USM this weekend.