HOULTON, Maine — A strong second quarter helped catapult the Southern Aroostook girls basketball team to a 56-36 victory over Houlton Monday evening.
After the two squads exchanged buckets for most of the first quarter, which ended with a slim 15-13 edge for Southern Aroostook, the Warriors outscored Houlton 17-5 in the second period to break open the game.
Southern Aroostook’s Kacy Daggett tries to shoot around Houlton defender Samantha Condon (31) during Monday’s game. Also defending is Shire Abbie Worthley. SA won 56-36. (Joseph Cyr)
With the win, the Warriors (11-2) moved back into first place in the Class D North standings, leaping over No. 2 Deer Isle-Stonington (11-0) for the top spot. Southern Aroostook has five games remaining on its schedule, including two key matchups with the only teams to beat them.
Central Aroostook (12-1, the top squad in Class C) and Madawaska (10-1 and third in Class C North) are the only teams to beat the Warriors this season. SA faces Madawaska on Jan. 26 and CAHS on Jan. 28. Both are home games for the Warriors.
“I thought we played a good half-court defense tonight and we didn’t give Houlton a lot of second chances,” SA coach Cliff Urquhart said. “We tried to mix our pressure in, when we had the personnel on the floor to do so.”
Makaelyn Porter led the Warriors with 16 points, while Sydney Brewer chipped in 12 and Kacy Daggett had 10.
Houlton’s Rebecca Howe, left, rips the ball away from Southern Aroostook’s Sydney Brewer during Monday night’s game. Also defending is Shire Samantha Condon. SA won 56-36. (Joseph Cyr)
“We have to get better every day at everything,” the coach added. “I don’t think anything was perfect, so we will just stay with the grind and keep pushing to get better (for the playoffs).”
Neither team shot particularly well from the foul line as Houlton converted 8-of-17 free throws (47 percent), while Southern Aroostook made 11-of-23 foul shots (48 percent).
For Houlton, the Shires leaned on freshman Mia Henderson, who led all players with 17 points. Kennedy Buzzeo chipped in eight points.
With a 6-7 record, Houlton is clinging to its home preliminary playoff hopes. As of Tuesday morning, the Shires were ranked eighth in Class C North, which is the final seed to host a playoff. Seeds 9-14 must travel for prelim games.
“We know we are going to be in a prelim game, so we have between now and mid-February to get to where we need to be,” Houlton coach Shawn Graham said.
The coach added his squad needed to do a better job of maintaining its intensity for a full four quarters and also had to get better at rebounding.
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- Southern Aroostook’s Makaelyn Porter, right, eyes the rim while guarded by Houlton’s Abbie Worthley during Monday night’s contest. SA won 56-36. (Joseph Cyr)
