BANGOR, Maine — Presque Isle High School senior point guard Emily Wheaton celebrated being named one of 10 finalists for Miss Maine Basketball by pouring in a game-high 35 points — she also dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds — to lead the fifth-seeded Wildcats to a 55-52 triumph over the top-seeded Hawks in Wednesday’s Class B North semifinal at the Cross Insurance Center.
The 15-5 Wildcats take on sixth seed Winslow (16-5) in Saturday’s 2:05 regional championship game.
Wheaton, who scored 39 points in a 62-54 regular-season win over Hermon earlier this month, went 9-for-19 from the floor (2-for-6 from the 3-point arc) and 15-for-18 from the free-throw line.
The 17-3 Hawks had no answer for her quickness as she continually drove past defenders to create layups and short runners, often getting fouled in the process.
Presque Isle’s Christina Skidgel, left, dribbles around Hermon’s Grace Page during Wednesday afternoon’s Class B North girls seminfinal at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
(Joseph Cyr)
She posted six points and an assist during a 10-2 run in the third quarter that turned a two-point lead into a 33-23 advantage with 2:56 left in the period.
The determined Hawks made several runs in the fourth quarter but they couldn’t get any closer than five until Maddie Pullen hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“They overplayed me so I was able to find open gaps and get to the basket,” said the 5-5 Wheaton, who will attend Husson University in Bangor next fall. “But I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
“We needed a big game from Emily and our girls were gritty. They made just enough plays to win the game,” said PI coach Jeff Hudson.
“(Wheaton) reads the floor really well and she’s a great shooter and driver,” said somber senior forward Lauren Plissey, who paced Hermon with 13 points, all in the second half, and five rebounds. “We tried as hard as we could to stop her.”
Maggie Castonguay hit two important 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter and finished with six points, Sydney Thompson had five points and Rebecca Rider had four points and three rebounds.
Pullen contributed 11 points and four rebounds to complement Plissey. Alex Allain had six points, six rebounds and four assists. Grace Page scored six points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds as Hermon had a decided edge on the boards. Madisyn Curtis and Gabby Chasse had five points each and Curtis grabbed four rebounds.
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- Presque Isle’s Rebecca Rider lunges for the ball as Hermon’s Maddie Pullen defends during Wednesday afternoon’s Class B North semifinal at the Cross Insurance Center. (Joseph Cyr)
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- Members of the No. 5 Presque Isle girls basketball team celebrate their 55-52 upset over No. 1 Hermon in Class B North girls semifinal action Wednesday at the Cross Insurance Center. (Joseph Cyr)
