Houlton girls eye first state title since 1991
BANGOR, Maine — It took only 3 1/2 minutes for the Houlton Shiretowners to generate the momentum they needed to win on Saturday night.
Houlton’s player-to-player defense helped create turnovers on Dexter’s first five possessions of the second half and the Shiretowners turned them into a 12-1 burst that carried the team to the Eastern Maine Class C girls basketball championship with a 46-38 victory at the Cross Insurance Center.
“Our intensity was crazy. In the third quarter, our defense was ridiculous,” said freshman Kolleen Bouchard, who scored a game-high 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked five shots.
Second-seeded Houlton (19-2) extended its lead to as many as 14 points, then held off a determined charge to overcome a senior-laden Dexter squad (18-3) that was the No. 4 seed.
Coach Shawn Graham’s Shiretowners advance to take on Western Maine champion Maranacook of Readfield (18-3) in next Saturday’s 7:05 p.m. state title game in Bangor. The victory was Houlton’s first girls regional title since it won in Class B in 1993. The last time the Houlton girls won a state championship was in 1991.
Coming into the game, coach Graham said he felt his team had yet to play its best basketball of the tournament and was hoping his squad would be up for the challenge against a senior-laden Dexter squad.
Mission accomplished.
“We’ve been teaching all year that if we keep it tight, we try to win the third quarter and that sets you up in the fourth quarter to play our game,” coach Graham said. “I think we’re in pretty good condition, so we try to wear teams down in the second half.”
Sophomore guard Rylee Warman scored nine points and junior guard Chelsea Gentle posted seven points for the Shiretowners, who overcame foul trouble to junior forward Katie Condon, who posted six rebounds. Condon had to sit out much of the second quarter.
The victory proved to be a bit overwhelming for some of the young Shires, particularly when it came time to cut down the nets in celebration. Houlton hesitated, as if they were uncertain which players should go up the ladder. Eventually, junior Natalie Hill (4 points) ascended one ladder, while Condon climbed the other. Both girls modestly took the nets from the rim and gave them a brief twirl.
“I was so nervous,” Hill admitted. “I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. At least I didn’t drop it.”
Hill said she struggled personally with her defense in the first half, so she made it a point to come out stronger in the second half.
“Throughout the season we have come out stronger in the third (quarter) and we are a defensive team,” she said. “We were able to shut them down, and that was awesome.”
Dexter scored just one point in the third quarter, while Houlton amassed a 34-24 lead.
Both Warman and junior Chelsea Gentle said the one word they would pick to describe the winning feeling was “unbelievable,” while Condon said the joy she felt was “unfathomable.”
“It’s amazing,” Bouchard added. “I’ve wanted this my whole life.”
Michaela White paced Dexter with 15 points and five rebounds, while Megan Peach chipped in with seven points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Tasha Pratt sent Dexter into the locker room with a boost after making a 3-pointer before the halftime horn. The Tigers could not follow up on the shot in the second half.
Dexter turned the ball over five straight times to open the second half and the Shires scored six unanswered points. Ultimately, Dexter committed eight turnovers during the period and was limited to one free throw after 0-for-5 shooting.
“It’s unfortunate, we just didn’t really get settled in that third quarter,” said Dexter coach Jody Grant, who pointed out his team struggled in the third quarter throughout the tournament.
Freshman Aspen Flewelling got Houlton’s run started with a rebound basket after a turnover, then a five-second call against Dexter led to Bouchard’s driving hoop. Hill followed with a runner in the lane before Peach sank a foul shot for Dexter.
But Gentle’s 18-footer helped Houlton close out the quarter on a 6-0 run that made it 34-24 after three.
“We always talk about offensive habits and we had some chances to make some reads, better decisions and we didn’t, unfortunately,” Grant said.
The Shires extended the lead to 40-26 before the Tigers rallied with a 12-2 flurry. Houlton struggled against the Dexter press, resulting in several turnovers. Christine May hit back-to-back baskets, including a 3-pointer that trimmed the deficit to 42-38 with 1:20 remaining, resulting in a timeout from coach Graham.
“Coach told us to just calm down,” Gentle said.
“He asked us ‘Would you rather be down four points and not have the ball or up four points with the ball?’” Condon added.
The answer was obvious, and seemed to settle the nerves of the young Shires as out of the break, Houlton solved the Tiger press, allowing Warman to make a six-footer from the baseline on the Shires’ ensuing possession to push the lead to six (44-38).
After Dexter threw the ball away, Houlton once again was unable to successfully inbound the ball with 54 seconds to go, putting the ball back in the Tigers hands. May was called for an offensive foul with 46 seconds to play, giving the ball back to the Shires.
Bouchard was immediately fouled, and she promptly sank both free throws to ice the game for Houlton.
Houlton had put Dexter on its heels early, jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead. White and Peach then spearheaded a 13-5 run that set up a seesaw second period that featured six lead changes and two ties.
“We went four minutes without scoring in the first period. We were able to overcome that,” Grant said. “You’re lucky to do that maybe once in a game.”
Editor’s Note: Houlton Pioneer Times writer Joseph Cyr contributed to this article.
DEXTER (18-3) 38
Jordan 0-3 2-2 2, T. Pratt 2-6 0-0 5, Watson 2-8 0-0 4, Peach 3-9 1-2 7, White 5-16 3-6 15, Batron 0-0 0-0 0, Theodore 0-0 0-0 0, May 2-4 0-0 5, Melvin 0-0 0-0 0, D. Webber 0- 0 0-0 0, A. Webber 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-46 6-10 38
HOULTON (19-2) 46
Gentle 3-7 1-1 7, Hill 2-4 0-1 4, Bouchard 6-16 8-8 20, Warman 4-8 0-1 9, Condon 1-3 1-2 3, Graham 0-0 0-0 0, Collett 0-0 0-0 0, Flewelling 1-3 0-0 3, Watson 0-1 0-0 0.Totals 17-42 10-13 46
3-pt. goals — Dexter (3-14): May 1-2, Pratt 1-4, Watson 0-3, White 2-5; Houlton (2-7): Gentle 0-1, Bouchard 0-1, Warman 1-2, Flewelling 1-3
Dexter 7 23 24 38
Houlton 8 22 34 46
