Lady Cat frosh busy on court
The Presque Isle area freshmen travel basketball team was busy the month of March, traveling downstate every weekend and compiling an 18-6 record against older high school, AAU and club teams.
STATE CHAMPS
Members of the Maine Open champion Presque Isle freshmen basketball team are, from left, assistant coach Dan Girardin, Liza Buck, Megan Ireland, Kayla Girardin, Laurin Ackerson, Chandler Guerrette, Karlee Bernier, Meredith Stewart and coach Hal Stewart.
The Lady Cats began the month tuning up their game, going 7-2 in YBOA round-robin tournaments at Colby, St. Joes College and USM.
Next, the Cats competed in the spring favorite, The Great Harbor Shoot Out. At this tourney in Bar Harbor, the Cats beat older high school teams from Narraguagus, Camden Hills, Medomak Valley and in the semifinals prevailed over Bangor. They lost the championship by a bucket to a taller and older Central of East Corinth squad.
In the last weekend of March, the Cats claimed two championships. At the Maine Open in Bangor, they claimed the Girls Varsity Championship in a well-played title game game over AAU team MidCoast Warriors. Presque Isle then traveled to Waterville to play in the YBOA state championship, where they won all of their games to be crowned Under-14 champs.
The Cats’ success was driven by their strong defense and quickness, with Chandler Guerrette, Karlee Bernier, and Megan Ireland turning steals and turnovers into points. The offense was led by Guerrette, who averaged 14 points per game, and by the sharp shooting of Bernier (8.5 ppg), Ireland (7.4 ppg) and Lauren Ackerson.
Meredith Stewart made steady contributions to the offense from the post (7.6 ppg), and led the team in rebounding, while taking control of the middle. Liza Buck earned most improved status, elevating her game both offensively and defensively. Kayla Girardin provided huge rebounding and defensive efforts and Lauren Ackerson was routinely looked to for key defensive stops in addition to her outside shooting.
