The Caribou girls drew the envious task of facing defending Class B state champs Waterville in the preliminary round. Caribou traveled to Waterville (11-7) Tuesday for its playoff. The two teams did not meet in the regular season, but did play an exhibition game in the preseason — a game that Caribou lost by about 24 points.
“We got lucky getting in, but we’ll take it,” Caribou coach Bill Schofield said. “We got some points from other teams we beat on the season. Facing Waterville is probably the toughest match-up we could possibly get.”
Waterville has won three state championships in the past four years, which means the Purple Panthers have plenty of playoff experience and know what it takes to succeed on the floor of the Bangor Auditorium. Schofield said his game plan for handling Waterville was to control the tempo of the game, and hopefully be able to withstand the Purple Panthers’ pressing defense.
“Waterville is not scoring a ton of points, but they are playing a lot of really tough teams,” Schofield said. “They [Waterville] play a very similar style to Presque Isle. It will be crucial for us to break the press, attack the basket and focus our efforts on stopping [Waterville’s] Jen Nale. She’s a 1,000-point scorer and a really good shooter so we have to be aware of her on the floor at all times.”
If Caribou is victorious, it would earn a rematch with No. 1 Presque Isle 4:30 p.m. Saturday in a regional quarterfinal game in Bangor.
The Viking boys can look back at around this time last year if they need motivation heading into tonight’s (Wednesday’s) 6 p.m. preliminary playoff against Mount Desert Island.
Caribou was the No. 5 seed last season, but was prevented from advancing to the Eastern Maine Class B tourney when the Vikings were beaten in a home prelim by No. 12 Foxcroft Academy, 46-45.
“For the guys on the team last year, the Foxcroft game is a constant reminder that we aren’t going to Bangor unless we take care if business in our prelim,” said Viking senior captain Cameron Anderson.
Caribou faces a tough challenge in Mount Desert Island. The Vikings defeated the Trojans at home on Dec. 28, 42-29, which began a run in which Caribou was victorious in 10 of its final 12 contests. MDI (10-8) comes into the game having lost its final two regular season contests, but prior to that reeled off six wins in a row, including five on the road. The Trojans finished the season an impressive 7-3 as a visiting team.
The Vikes defended their home floor very well throughout the year, going 8-1. Caribou also plans on shaking off Thursday’s disappointing loss at Presque Isle, a game in which it led 11-0 before falling behind by as many as 27 points en route to a 59-40 defeat.
“Win or lose, we always move forward after a game,” Anderson said. “Coach [Chris Casavant] stresses taking one game at a time, so losing to Presque Isle will be the last thing on our mind [heading into tonight’s game].”
Anderson said Caribou is taking on an MDI squad that is very similar in style to his own team.
“MDI is notorious for lockdown ‘D’ and methodical offensive possessions – a lot like us. In order to win, we need to take care of the ball and keep them off the offensive glass.”
