PI ’Cats repeat, top Nokomis in ‘B’ final
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
BANGOR — The Presque Isle girls’ varsity basketball team built a huge lead and then calmly withstood a second-half rally Saturday to knock Nokomis out in the Eastern Maine Class B final for the second consecutive year.
IN TRAFFIC — Hannah Graham of the Wildcats gets defensive pressure from Nokomis’ Kelsey Richards during Saturday’s regional title game held in Bangor. Presque Isle captured the championship with a 66-51 win.
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DRIVING TOWARD THE BASKET against Nokomis’ Taylor Shaw during Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class B championship contest is Presque Isle senior guard Chandler Guerrette, who scored 14 points and handed out seven assists in the Wildcats’ 66-51 win.
PI takes on Lake Region for the state title Friday night in Portland.
The Wildcats led by as many as 21 points in the second half, only to see the Warriors get within 10 with 5:20 to play in regulation. However, Presque Isle then did what they had done all game long — hit big shots — to spread the lead back out and go on to a 66-51 victory.
“We were all shooting very well today and that was the difference,” said PI senior Karlee Bernier, who drained three of the team’s eight three-pointers in the game.
Wildcat coach Jeff Hudson agreed, saying that when the team needed a basket, his players pulled through.
“It’s not just one person, we have five or six that can make a three,” he said, “and that makes us really tough to guard.”
The victory puts Presque Isle in the state championship game for the second consecutive year. The ’Cats will meet up against Western Maine champ Lake Region, the team it beat in last year’s state final, at 7:05 p.m. Friday at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland.
Against the Newport-based Warriors, PI broke open a close game by going on a 14-1 spurt to end the second quarter and lead 35-21 at intermission.
The Wildcats kept the throttle on over the first 6-1/2 minutes of the third quarter as well, moving out to a 50-29 lead after Bernier drained a three-pointer with 1:20 left in the period.
Nokomis gave PI a scare by scoring the game’s next 11 points, a rally capped by a Lindsay Whitney hoop that came with 5:20 to play.
The Wildcats rallied back by scoring eight consecutive points in 32 seconds, with three-pointers by Megan Ireland and Bernier sandwiching a driving layup in transition by Ireland off a Chandler Guerrette feed. Nokomis never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.
“We had some breakdowns on defense, and they just hit shots,” said Nokomis coach Michelle Paradis, who completed her first year at the post after moving over from Foxcroft Academy.
“Whenever they made a run, we made a run right back at them,” Guerrette said. “We played great as a team and knocked down the open shots when we needed to.”
Presque Isle scored the first five points of the game and never trailed, but junior center Anna Mackenzie powered in two hoops as Nokomis tied the score at 5-5. Meredith Stewart scored inside off a Guerrette assist and Ireland drained a three-pointer to spread the lead back to five.
The Warriors kept fighting and whittled PI’s lead to one on two occasions later in the half. With the score 21-20 with five minutes to go in the second quarter, four different Wildcat players contributed to the run that ended the half, and Guerrette was involved in many of the scoring plays.
The senior guard scored on a drive, Hannah Graham swished a pair of free throws, freshman reserve center Regan Nelson scored off a Guerrette assist, Ireland nailed a three and then scored a fast-break layup off a Guerrette pass and Graham nailed a three from the top of the key to give Presque Isle the comfortable lead halfway through the game.
“I was able to get in the lane and [the defense] collapses, so it opens up the three-point line,” Guerrette said.
Ireland finished with 18 points. She had four three-point baskets and collected three steals. Guerrette scored 16 points and contributed four rebounds, seven assists and six steals, while Graham added 11 points and seven boards. Bernier scored nine points, all coming on threes, while Krystal Kingsbury came off the bench to grab five rebounds.
Presque Isle was a perfect 12-for-12 from the foul line in the contest.
For Nokomis, Mckenzie had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Kelsie Richards scored 13 points and had five rebounds. Mikayla Charters came off the bench to contribute seven points and seven boards, while Taylor Shaw also had seven points and notched five rebounds. The Warriors held a 41-23 edge in rebounds, but committed 22 turnovers compared to just 12 by PI.
“We know turnovers and fouls can be the equalizer, and we did well in those departments today,” Bernier added.
In last Wednesday’s semifinal against Mount Desert Island, the game was tight after three quarters before the ’Cats went on one of their patented flurries to win going away, 62-48.
Trailing 42-39 with seven minutes to play, Ireland and Guerrette hit successive three-pointers to put PI on top to stay. A Kingsbury inside hoop preceded two more Ireland threes and another Kingsbury layup. With two minutes left in the contest, Presque Isle had built a 55-44 lead. The Wildcats hit seven of eight free throws in the final 1:15, with Graham going 4 for 4 herself, to clinch the victory.
Ireland scored 24 points, Graham added 16 and Guerrette 11 for the winners. Hannah Shaw had 14 points and Sarah Phelps netted 13 more for MDI, which ended its season with an 18-2 record. The Trojans had given Presque Isle its two toughest games of the regular season.
“This is what we’ve been going for since elementary school as the seven seniors have been on a travel team since that time,” Bernier added.
“They are winners — they really are,” Hudson added of his senior group that has gone 70-2 in the regular season and 79-4 overall since their freshman year. “I’m proud of them, the way they responded in that MDI and again against Nokomis, they were ready. This is a pretty formidable team.”
