MARS HILL, Maine — Houlton girls basketball beat Central Aroostook on Tuesday, after a night in which Central Aroostook never quite gained its offensive footing.
Central Aroostook was down by double digits for most of the night. An attempted comeback in the third quarter appeared hopeful for the Mars Hill squad. Yet, Houlton quickly stifled the attack with a strong performance of its own.
Central Aroostook scored seven points in the first quarter to Houlton’s 15, most of which came from 3-pointers.
Yet, solid defensive play from Houlton was able to keep Central Aroostook to only five points in the second quarter. Houlton was able to build on its lead, laying down 11 points with baskets from five different players. Houlton led 26-12 at the half.
Central Aroostook was able to come within striking distance in the third quarter, bringing Houlton’s lead below double digits. The team was helped by junior Maci Beals, who scored five out of Central Aroostook’s 12 points that quarter.
Central Aroostook coach Dillon Kingsbury was in a tense squat as he watched the comeback attempt. He continuously yelled, “keep pushing” to his players.
However, Houlton fought back. The team scored 10 points of its own while their defense prevented Central Aroostook from putting the game back in contention. The third quarter ended with Houlton again leading 36-24.
Things remained static throughout the fourth, as Central Aroostook attempted to get back in the game with a series of unsuccessful 3-point shots. Houlton made all four of its free-throw attempts and kept Central Aroostook from a late resurgence.
Central Aroostook senior Breann Bradbury was the leading scorer of the game with 16 total points. Bradbury had five baskets (one 3-pointer) and downed five out of eight free-throw attempts. She was the only Central Aroostook player who had more than 10 points. Junior Libby Grass had seven.
The leading scorer for Houlton was senior Teagan Ewings, who had 13 points on the night. Sophomore Mia Henderson also impressed, with four 3-pointers netting her 12 total points.
Kingsbury said that while he was “extremely proud” with his players’ defensive play, they needed to improve on offense if they wanted to beat formidable opponents like Houlton.
He said he wasn’t demoralized by the loss and was optimistic about playing Washburn on Dec. 20.
“We need to just keep our nose to the grindstone,” Kingsbury said. “We’ll learn from and fix the things from last night’s loss and move on.”
