Houlton senior phenom Kolleen Bouchard has accomplished another milestone in her career as she was named the Bangor Daily News’ Owen O. Osborne Most Valuable Player for the fourth time.
Bouchard was chosen the Class C North MVP for the second time after winning the award in Class B on two other occasions. She almost single-handedly led the Shiretowners to their fourth straight regional championship.
Two fellow County players were also selected as MVPs. Presque Isle senior guard Emily Wheaton was the Class B choice and Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook sophomore guard Makaelyn Porter was the Class D MVP.
Junior forward Bailey Donovan of Hampden Academy was the Class A MVP choice.
The 6-foot Bouchard was joined on the C team by Dexter freshman guards Peyton Grant and Avery Herrick, Central of Corinth senior guard Sydney Allen and Calais sophomore guard Lauren Cook.
Wheaton was accompanied on the Class B team by Winslow’s Haley Ward, Paige Trask and Maeghan Bernard, and Lauren Plissey of Hermon. Ward is a senior forward, Trask is a junior forward, Bernard is a junior guard and Plissey is a senior forward.
Porter was joined on the D team by two of her teammates, freshman center Kacy Daggett and junior forward-guard Kassidy Mathers, a repeat choice, along with Woodland freshman center Emily Curtis and Katahdin of Stacyville senior center Natalie Rickards.
Donovan was joined on the Class A team by teammate Brooklyn Scott, a senior guard; senior guard-forward Ally Turner and sophomore guard-forward Gabrielle Wener from Messalonskee of Oakland and Skowhegan junior guard Annie Cooke.
In Class C, Bouchard scored 73 points in Houlton’s three tourney wins including a 27-point performance in the 33-30 overtime win in the regional final. Her 3-pointer with 24.1 seconds left forced overtime. She also had five steals, four rebounds, two blocked shots and two assists against Dexter.
She had 21 points in the 41-38 semifinal win over Central and had a steal and two free throws with 8.7 seconds left in overtime to give the Shires a four-point lead. She had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the quarterfinal win over Piscataquis Community of Guilford.
Central’s Allen had 17 points in the loss to Houlton after collecting 12 points, five rebounds and three assists in a quarterfinal win over Stearns of Millinocket. Grant registered 61 points in three games including a team-high 22 against Houlton. She had 23 points against Fort Kent and 16 vs. Calais.
Herrick had 14-point performances against Fort Kent and Calais and her nine rebounds against Calais was a game-high.
In Class B, three-time all-tourney selection Wheaton poured in 87 points in three games. She had 36 points in an overtime win over Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield and forced the overtime with a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining. She had 35 points, five assists and four rebounds in the 55-52 upset win over top seed Hermon and capped her career with 16 points, five assists and four rebounds in the final vs. Winslow.
Bernard paced Winslow in the championship game win over Presque Isle with 13 points, nine rebounds and two assists. She had nine points and five rebounds vs. Mount Desert Island and eight points vs. John Bapst of Bangor.
Ward’s 20 points and seven rebounds sparked Winslow past John Bapst. She had 13 points, five rebounds and two steals against MDI and had 10 points, including a pair of clutch free throws in overtime, seven rebounds and two assists vs. Presque Isle.
Trask scored nine points in the title game and finished with 17 points in the tourney. She was also an effective rebounder and a first-rate defender.
Plissey had 15 points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists in the win over Caribou and followed that up with a 13-point, five-rebound outing in the loss to Presque Isle.
In Class D, Porter played an important role in all three Southern Aroostook victories as she scored at least 16 points in each. The energetic and speedy Porter had 16 points apiece in the wins over Jonesport-Beals and Katahdin and followed that up with 19 in the championship game win over Woodland.
The athletic Mathers had 16 points against Jonesport-Beals and 14 more vs. Katahdin before chipping in six against Woodland. The polished Daggett was a force in the paint, scoring 33 points overall and helping to control the boards.
Curtis had a memorable first tournament with 57 points in three games including a 24-point, 17-rebound, 6-block outing against previously undefeated Deer Isle-Stonington in the semifinals. She had 16 points and 14 rebounds vs. Schenck of East Millinocket and 17 points vs. Southern Aroostook.
Rickards was Katahdin’s go-to player and came through with 18 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots in a win over defending regional champ Shead of Eastport. She had seven more points in the semis vs. Southern Aroostook.
In Class A, Donovan was a force in the paint at both ends of the court while serving as the centerpiece of Hampden Academy’s championship effort. The 6-3 post player was a model of consistency as she averaged 12.3 points and nearly had a double-double in each tourney game while posting 11 rebounds and five blocked shots per contest.
Teammate Scott, netted 5 points per game and also provided 8 rebounds per contest. Wener was the catalyst for Messalonskee, scoring a Class-A best 46 points (15.3 ppg), including 29 in the Eagles’ quarterfinal win over Medomak Valley.
Turner averaged 10.1 points in Messalonskee’s drive to the title game while Cooke averaged 15.5 points and shot 69 percent from the field.
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- Southern Aroostook’s Makaelyn Porter tries to dribble past Katahdin’s Lilly Cullen during Thursday’s semifinal game. Porter was chosen as tourney MVP in Class D. (File photo)
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- Presque Isle’s Emily Wheaton, left, looks for an open teammate during last Wednesday’s semifinal against Hermon. Wheaton was the choice as the tournament MVP in Class B. (File photo)
