PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Coach Jeff Hudson got the start he was looking for on Wednesday as he witnessed his Wildcats cruising to a big lead against No. 1 John Bapst of Bangor.
When Sydney Thompson nailed her third of four consecutive 3-pointers 30 seconds into the third quarter, PI was up 33-15 and appeared well on its way to an easy victory.
However, the Crusaders proved their top ranking was not a fluke as they ramped up the defense and cut the lead to one point late in the fourth quarter. But Presque Isle used some big free throws from Emily Wheaton over the final 18 seconds to hold on for a 55-50 victory.
The Wildcats (9-3) had it all going early. Solid defense was turned in by the backcourt duo of Madison Michaud and Maggie Castonguay, who held the Crusaders’ top scorers, Grace Philippon and Crystal Bell, to combined 3-of-16 shooting from the floor. That, coupled with hot shooting by senior guard Emily Wheaton (18 first-half points), led to a decisive 15-point lead at intermission.
“We had a lot of fire and when we play hard, we’re pretty tough. We did a great job playing defense in the first half. They didn’t shoot well, but a lot of that was because of our defense,” said Hudson, praising Michaud and Castonguay for winning their defensive matchups.
Wheaton connected on 6 of her final 8 field-goal attempts in the first half, including two 3-pointers, and went 4-for-4 from the foul line for her lofty point total. She was held to two points in the third quarter when Bapst went on its run, but finished with 30 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field despite being double- and triple-teamed throughout the contest.
“I can usually tell right from the beginning of the game if Wheaton is going to be on, and she was ready tonight,” Hudson said. “She had a lot of defenders on her but she was making shots and was big for us.”
Thompson was also an offensive star as she finished with 12 points off the bench, all coming on 3-point field goals. After scoring a total of eight points in her first five games, she is averaging almost 9 points per game over her last seven.
“Things changed when I hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter against Caribou [on Jan. 9]. That gave me a big boost and a lot of confidence,” Thompson said. “I started trusting myself and believing in myself more.”
John Bapst trailed by 16 with five minutes to play in the third period before making its surge. Abbey Legasse and Bell were the ringleaders as they combined for 15 of the team’s 17 points in the third quarter and whittled PI’s lead down to four (36-32).
Thompson hit her final 3-pointer from the wing on a broken play after a near turnover, making it 45-37, but consecutive field goals by the Crusaders’ Caleigh Lebel and a 3-point field goal by Bell that bounced on the rim a couple times before falling through made it 47-46 with 2:55 left.
Castonguay tracked down a blocked 3-point attempt by Thompson under the basket for a layup and Wheaton dribbled past three defenders for another to put Presque Isle up 51-46 with 1:45 to go. A Lacey Scanlon hoop and Tia Zephir’s layup with 35 seconds remaining put Bapst back within a point before Wheaton hit two foul shots.
After a timeout, Bell came off a double screen and had a chance to tie the game on a 3-point attempt with 10 seconds left, but was covered up by Michaud and the shot fell short. Wheaton nailed a pair from the line at the 4.8-second mark for the game’s final points.
Bell finished with 14 points and Legassie and Lebel had eight each for John Bapst, which has lost two of its last three after a 9-0 start.
“We needed a big Heal Point win and we got it,” Hudson said.
