Wildcats lose rare home game
Winning streak at PIHS went all the way back to 2008
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — It was a streak that dated back nearly seven years, and now it’s over.
The Wildcat girls’ basketball team hadn’t lost a game on their home court since February of 2008, for a total of 58 games, but the Mount Desert Island Trojans put an end to that streak Tuesday.
In a back-and-forth game that featured eight ties and 21 lead changes — eight coming in the final 4:46 alone — the Bar Harbor-based Trojans owned the final 75 seconds en route to a 70-64 victory at PIHS.
After junior center Regan Nelson drained a pair of free throws with 1:30 remaining to give PI a 64-63 advantage, MDI took over.
Junior guard Sierra Tapley swished a jump shot from the top of the key with 1:15 left to put her Trojans up by a point. After PI committed a traveling violation in the backcourt, junior Kelsey Shaw grabbed an offensive rebound before being fouled and making the first of two from the line with 58 seconds to go.
She misfired on the second attempt, but teammate Sarah Phelps scrapped for the offensive rebound and made a layup to stretch the lead to four.
Wildcat sophomore Emily Lagerstrom, who canned six three-point field goals in the second half alone, couldn’t connect on a seventh in her team’s next offensive trip and Phelps drew a foul and drained two from the line with 29 ticks left on the clock for the game’s final points.
Earlier, Presque Isle led by as many as five points (27-22) following Taylor Williams’ third three-pointer of the first half which came with 5:27 left in the second period.
MDI battled back, even with their leading scorer Shaw on the bench with foul trouble. The Trojans gained a 31-29 lead on a Phelps driving layup 20 seconds prior to intermission.
Shaw had picked up her third personal foul of the player-control variety with three seconds left in the half, but the visitors from Hancock County were unfazed and scored the first five points of the third quarter to grab their largest lead at 36-29.
Then Lagerstrom caught fire from the outside with four three-pointers in the third quarter, including her final one of the period with 3:20 left, to put PI back on top, 44-43.
However, Wildcat senior captain Hannah Graham committed a pair of fouls within 56 seconds of each other, her third and fourth of the game, and was forced to sit out.
Tapley took advantage of her absence as she scored the final five points of the quarter, thanks to a three and a 10-foot jumper, and gave her team a 48-44 lead entering the final eight minutes of action.
Even with Graham on the bench, PI battled back thanks to a three-point play by senior co-captain Krystal Kingsbury, a three and two free throws by Williams and another long-range three by Lagerstrom to move out in front, 55-52, at the 4:46 mark.
Graham returned to the floor a few seconds later and never picked up the disqualifying foul, but the teams alternated leads on seven occasions before MDI went on their impressive game-ending run.
Tapley finished with 27 points for the now 7-0 Trojans, who despite the win still trail PI for the No. 1 position in Eastern Maine Class B. Phelps had 19, nine of which came in the final three minutes.
Lagerstrom finished with 21 points, all coming on threes, while Williams netted 14 points to go along with four assists and Kingsbury 13 to lead the ‘Cats, who fell to 7-1. In all, 13 of PI’s 21 field goals were scored on three-pointers.
