HOULTON, Maine — A 27-point effort from senior Kolleen Bouchard carried Houlton to a 51-37 victory over Southern Aroostook Friday evening as the Shires remain perfect on the young season.
Bouchard drained four 3-pointers and was 5-of-6 from the foul line in yet another dominating effort for the Shires. With the win, Houlton improves to 3-0, while Southern Aroostook dropped to 4-1.
Houlton’s Teagan Ewings, left, has her path to the basket blocked by Southern Aroostook’s Kassidy Mathers during Friday night’s game in Houlton. The Shires beat SA 51-37 (Jospeh Cyr)
Friday’s game was one of the most anticipated games of the season for many basketball fans and marked the first time the two teams met during the regular season in the history of the two clubs.
“Any time you can play a team of this caliber it’s good for the kids,” SA coach Cliff Urquhart said. “It was fun, competitive and overall that is something we want.”
Urquhart said despite the loss, his squad learned a lot from the game.
“They (Houlton) have one of the most unstoppable players in the state in Kolleen,” he said. “That is great for us to experience and try to defend against. I thought our kids did a great job tonight. She (Bouchard) still got her points, but she had to earn them.”
“For an early season game, this one seems to have a playoff type atmosphere,” Houlton coach Shawn Graham said. “The game plan tonight was to be very physical and we got off to a good start.”
After trading baskets in the first four minutes, Houlton went on an 11-2 run to close out the first quarter and go up 20-11. The Warriors never led again as Houlton slowly built a 31-17 halftime lead.
The Shires struggled in the third period, scoring just five points, but so too did the Warriors as they mustered only eight, to cut the lead to 36-25 after three quarters.
Kylie Vining and Kacy Daggett both had eight points to lead the Warriors. Makaelyn Porter and Kassidy Mathers each had six.
Houlton’s Kolleen Bouchard goes in for two of her game-high 27 points Friday evening as Houlton beat Southern Aroostook 51-37. Defending on the play is SA’s Katelyn Slauenwhite. (Joseph Cyr)
For the Shires, Teagen Ewings chipped in seven points and Aspen Flewelling added six. The Shires sank seven 3-pointers on the night.
