By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
The Houlton girls basketball team is heading straight to the Class C quarterfinal game at the Cross Insurance Center.
The Lady Shires finished fifth in the Heal Points with a 12-6 record. In their last six games, the Houlton girls went 5-1 with a one-point loss to Schenck on Jan. 30.
Coach Shawn Graham’s club will be facing No. 4 Dexter, 13-5, at 2:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18 in Bangor.
According to Graham, Dexter has good interior size with 6-1 freshman Megan Peach and 5-8 forward Abbie Melvin. This could pose a problem for the Lady Shires on the boards since their frontcourt players mostly stand at 5-7.
“Peach has a nice hook shot from the right block and Melvin works really hard on the glass looking for putbacks,” said Graham. “These two are their leading scorers. They like to get the ball inside, but they also have decent shooters when a team doubles down.”
A dangerous outside threat for Dexter is Michaela White.
“She is a good spot-up 3-point shooter,” Graham added.
It has been no secret through the season that Houlton senior Jessy Dickison is the sparkplug to the team’s defense as she has held many top opponent’s scorers to single-digit games. She is joined in the frontcourt by senior Sam Keegan and sophomore Katie Condon, who in their own right can clean up the boards and provide offense from the block.
Teaming up in the backcourt are senior Bre Longstaff and sophomore Natalie Hill. Longstaff can ignite the Lady Shires from the perimeter, while Hill can find her way to the hoop on drives or is able to dump the ball to open teammates.
Longstaff, Hill and Condon, the three players who typically handle the ball, will feel the stress of a “hard-nosed” man-to-man half-court and full-court defense executed by Dexter.
However, the Lady Shires cannot self destruct.
“We need to stay out of foul trouble and limit our turnovers,” said Graham. “We will rely on a strong defensive effort and we have to match their intensity and control the boards, as well.”
Dexter plays a solid Penobscot Valley Conference schedule. Houlton and Dexter have one common opponent in Stearns.
Dexter beat the Minutemen twice: 52-42 in Millinocket on Dec. 30 and again Feb. 4 in Dexter, 56-41. The Houlton girls lost to Stearns in Millinocket, 41-36 on Dec. 17 and avenged that loss on Feb. 1 at home with a 31-27 win.
“It will be interesting to see if the new facility has any implications on how teams respond,” said Graham.
