PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — After allowing the Presque Isle Wildcats to get off to a fast start from 3-point land, the Houlton defense slowed the perimeter attack as the game progressed, leading to a 63-54 girls basketball victory for the Shires Wednesday.
Kolleen Bouchard of the Houlton Shiretowners finishes a fast-break layup as Presque Isle’s Kasey Haley comes from behind during Wednesday’s game at Presque Isle High School. (Kevin Sjoberg)
Class B Presque Isle (7-3) connected on 4 of its first 7 attempts from beyond the arc, but then went just 5-for-21 the rest of the way, allowing Houlton to pick up its ninth consecutive victory to begin the season and build on its lead in the Class C North standings.
“At first we were getting out of position instead of switching and staying with our player,” said Houlton coach Shawn Graham. “In the second half, we concentrated more on just containing the player you’re guarding.”
The game was close through 3 1/2 quarters and featured seven ties and nine lead changes. Houlton led by two points at halftime and doubled it on Abbie Worthley’s jumper eight seconds into the third quarter, but the home team fought back with a 12-4 run over the next 2:06.
Wildcats senior guard Emily Wheaton began the spurt with a fast-break layup following her rebound of a missed Houlton shot at the other end of the floor. Then she converted a driving layup, was fouled in the process and made the free throw. She capped it off with a long 3-pointer that put her team up 38-34 with 5:20 left.
Houlton answered by tallying the game’s next 10 points. Aspen Flewelling’s only field goal of the game, a 3-pointer from the corner, kicked off the flurry and Kristen Graham nailed a 3-pointer to finish the rally, putting the Shires up 44-38 late in the quarter.
Presque Isle’s Madison Michaud takes a layup against Houlton defender Teagan Ewings during Wednesday’s game at Presque Isle High School. (Kevin Sjoberg)
The Shires took a five-point lead into the final period, but Wheaton nailed a 3-pointer and Maggie Castonguay put in a fast-break layup within 30 seconds of each other to knot the score. Teagan Ewings hit a layup off a Bouchard pass to put Houlton back on top and PI’s Savannah Rodriguez converted two foul shots to tie it again, but Bouchard put in two field goals and a pair of free throws as part of a 9-0 run that put the game away.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Graham said, “and I just said they are going to have those runs but eventually we have to get some stops on defense. We did that and made some free throws at the end and took care of the ball against their press and it worked out.”
“I thought their team was a little tougher than us last night both physically and mentally too,” said Presque Isle coach Jeff Hudson. “We were tied 50-50, and then did not execute on offense or defense after that. Hopefully we can fix that for the next time we play them.”
Houlton went 5-for-6 from the foul line in the final quarter and was 9 of 10 overall. Presque Isle was a perfect 9-for-9 on free throws in the contest.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 9-4 lead, their largest of the first half, on 3-point field goals by Chrissy Skidgel, Castonguay and Wheaton in the first 4:44 of the first quarter.
Houlton rode the midrange shooting of Ewings and the inside play of Bouchard to rally back to take a 10-9 advantage late in the first quarter, but a Sydney Thompson 3-pointer quickly gave PI the lead again and the hosts were up 16-14 at the end of the first period.
After the hot shooting start, the Wildcats cooled down considerably from long range in the second quarter, going just 2-for-10, and the Shires took advantage.
Presque Isle’s Emily Wheaton dribbles in on Houlton’s Kolleen Bouchard during the girls varsity basketball game at Presque Isle High School Wednesday. (Kevin Sjoberg)
Houlton parlayed four Bouchard field goals plus two more by Ewings into a 30-26 halftime lead. The duo combined for 26 of the Shires’ points before intermission.
“We had some role players hit some shots, and that forced them into multiple different defenses,” Graham said. “It took away the junk defense [on Bouchard] and that was big.”
Bouchard finished with 30 points and Ewings 18 for the winners.
“The difference was the Ewings girl,” Hudson said. “She really hurt us by making shots. We knew Kolleen would get hers but were really hoping the others wouldn’t step up, but they certainly did.”
“She’s improved her jump shot so much and she hit some big ones for us,” Graham said of Ewings. “That’s big for us when we get some others [beside Bouchard] to step up.”
Wheaton’s 27 points were tops for Presque Isle. Skidgel added eight and Sydney Thompson came off the bench to score eight.
