PI girls win over Hermon
Both Washburn teams also victorious on season-opening weekend
After suffering a disappointing loss to Hermon in last February’s Class B North semifinal, the Presque Isle girls got the better of Saturday’s rematch.
The Wildcats executed their game plan nearly to perfection in a 41-25 win at Presque Isle. The Hawks’ talented frontline of 6-footer Emi Higgins and 5-10 forwards Lauren Plissey and Maddie Pullen were limited to a total of five field goals the entire contest. PI outrebounded the taller Hermon squad, 34-30, and the defense forced 21 turnovers.
“We were really hurt by their big girls in the tournament game, so we talked about knowing where Higgins was and taking away the high post with our guards, while really cheating on the help side,” said PI coach Jeff Hudson. “We gave up a couple open looks outside, but we did a great job of bottling up Higgins and Plissey in particular. We played excellent team defense without fouling.”
Presque Isle received a breakout performance from senior forward Skylar Vogel, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
“She set the tone and was a force inside,” Hudson said.
Emily Wheaton and Emily Lagerstrom (two three-pointers) added eight points each for the Wildcats and Madison Michaud supplied tough defense and chipped in with five points.
Alex Allain led Hermon with eight points.
Later that afternoon, the PI boys held the lead early, but Hermon’s defense was dominant over the final three quarters in a 64-48 win.
Freshman Isaac Varney scored 17 points and Keenan Marseille had 16 for the visiting Hawks.
Griffin Guerrette of the Wildcats had 15 points and Jake Kinney tossed in 10, including eight in the first quarter.
The Easton teams played a doubleheader in Ashland Friday and the Bears were victorious in both games.
The girls’ game was close after three quarters but Easton had too much in the end, winning 32-24. Senior Elise Allen’s 15 points keyed the Bear offense and Hannah Stratton had eight for the Hornets.
The Ashland boys had no answer for the duo of Jake Flewelling and Jordan Doody in the nightcap. Easton’s seniors exploded for 25 and 22 points, respectively, in the 64-48 win. Bailey Clark had a team-high 11 points and Kyle Beaulier had 10 for Ashland.
Washburn made the trip north to Van Buren Friday and both teams won handily as girls’ coach Tyler Putnam and boys’ coach Mike Hartford prevailed in their coaching debuts.The girls captured a 50-12 win as freshman Maggie Castonguay poured in 19 points in her first varsity game. In the boys’ contest, senior McCall Turner had 22 points and teammates Quintin Thompson and Caleb Thompson added 12 each as the Beavers notched a 53-27 win.
Fort Fairfield fell behind by 16 points after one period and lost to Southern Aroostook Friday, 67-33. Kacy Daggett, an eighth-grader, led SA with 20 points. Cammi King-DeMerchant scored nine for the Tigers.
The Central Aroostook boys were bested by Southern Aroostook in Dyer Brook Friday, 85-51.
