Local teams look to keep competitive edge

Warriors coach likes team’s chances as season winds down
Lady Shires pull away for a win
    Saturday night, the Houlton girls had a hard time shaking visiting Hodgdon. But, the Lady Shires kicked it up a notch to take the 59-39 victory.
    Houlton’s Amanda Fogarty was the game-high scorer with 20 points, while Taylor Bailey tossed in 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Samantha Keegan netted 10 points. Marina Cameron and Mikala Folsom each added five points for the winners.
Pioneer Times photograph/Joseph Cyr
OVER THE ‘D’ — Southern Aroostook’s Sable Altvater is heavily guarded as she shoots during Saturday’s game in Dyer Brook. The Lady Warriors overtook the visiting Easton Bears,
    For Hodgdon, Mariah Wiley scored 15 points, while Lacey McQuarrie added six points.
    Houlton led 16-7 to start the game, but the teams played evenly in the second quarter, as Houlton took a 23-13 halftime lead. In the third, Houlton was ahead 34-22 before outscoring Hodgdon, 25-17 in the fourth to take the win.
Lady Hawks competitive
    On Monday, the Hodgdon Lady Hawks used a 14-6 scoring run to pull out a 44-29 win over visiting Limestone.
    Haley Gardiner scored seven for Hodgdon, while Mariah Wiley had six points and Lacey McQuarrie added five more.
    The Lady Hawks turned a 5-4 opening deficit into a 19-11 halftime advantage. After three, the Hodgdon girls led 30-23.
    Last Tuesday, Fort Fairfield overtook visiting Hodgdon, 65-44.
    Wiley and Brittany Davies led Hodgdon with 10 points apiece, while Amanda Ryan had five points.
    Fort Fairfield led 18-14 to open the game and had a 36-26 halftime lead. After the third, the Tigers held a 48-36 advantage.
Shires defeated
    On Monday, the Houlton Shiretowners stayed close to host Fort Kent, but couldn’t overcome the Warriors, as they were defeated 41-34.
    Nick Guiod paced Houlton with 11 points, while Micah Goetsch tossed in 10 and Chris Anderson chipped in six points.
    The Shires trailed 17-10 at the half, but closed to within four points in the third, 25-21.
    Last Wednesday, the Shires were overpowered by Lee Academy, 65-34 in Lee.
    Guiod led Houlton with 12 points, while Goetsch and Anderson each posted seven points.
    Lee led 17-8 to start the game and held a 28-14 halftime advantage. In the third, Lee broke the game open taking control, 48-23.
    Hawks overtake Limestone/MSSM
    On Monday, the Hodgdon Hawks put four players in double digits as they overtook visiting Limestone/MSSM, 67-59.
Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
SHOOTS — Houlton’s Taylor Bailey works her way past Jenna Steamer of Hodgdon during last Saturday’s game at Houlton High School. The Lady Shires took a 59-39 victory.
    Jake Tidd led Hodgdon scorers with 17 points, followed by Nick Lunn with 15; Devon Logie scored 14; Josh Hudson added 12 and Quinn Harris chipped in with six.
    Hodgdon turned a 13-12 first-quarter deficit into a 30-25 halftime advantage. The Hawks led 49-41 after three en route to the win.   
    Coach Sleeper likes Warriors’ chances
    Monday night in Dyer Brook, the Southern Aroostook Warriors cruised to a 63-9 victory over visiting East Grand.
    Rob Rockwell dropped in 14 points, while Anthony Diaferio added 10. Cody Lassonde and Jesse Boulier scored nine and eight points, respectively.
    For the Vikes, Cleve Kenyon had four; Robert Cousins added three.
    Leading 19-2 to start the game, the Warriors held a 38-4 halftime cushion.
    The Warriors showed they could contend with the top teams in Class D, as they almost upset Central Aroostook of Mars Hill on Saturday. The Panthers held on for the 64-61 victory.
    “The boys worked very hard on the defensive end,” said SACS coach Vaughn Sleeper.
    According to Sleeper, Jesse Boulier and Joe Frazier each had their strongest game to date, as they scored 16 and 10 points, respectively.
    The Warriors found themselves down by 12 points midway through the third.
    “After a timeout, the boys regrouped and started making the extra pass, finding the open man and knocking down shots,” said Sleeper.
    The Warriors had key possessions in the last two minutes, as they were only down two points. With time running out, Southern Aroostook had a last shot to tie the game, but they were unable to convert.
    “Central Aroostook mixed up their defenses well and were keying on (Cody) Robinson and (Rob) Rockwell throughout the game, which allowed good looks for other guys,” explained Sleeper. “Rockwell had another stellar game going 32 minutes with only two turnovers, while handling and distributing the ball under intense defensive pressure from end-line to end-line. The size of CA and the brilliant play by (Caleb) Kelly (14 points in each half) was the difference.”
‘D’ — Hodgdon’s Britta Oliver guards Houlton’s Katie Cone closely on rebounding  action.
    For Central Aroostook, Kelly had 28, with Mike McClung tossing in 12.
    “I am extremely pleased with our all-around team effort and the boys’ desire to compete with a team as talented as Central Aroostook,” Sleeper said. “We still have some big point-worthy games coming up.”
    Those games start with Katahdin in Dyer Brook on Feb.1, followed by a road trip to undefeated Washburn and then finishing with Easton at home.
    “I like our chances of getting into postseason play with this kind of effort,” Sleeper said.
    Last Thursday, the Warriors pulled away from host Limestone in the third to take a 71-63 victory.
    Southern Aroostook’s Rockwell was the high-scorer with 24 points, while Robinson tossed in 13 and Pat Goodall scored 12.
    Southern held a 25-11 opening lead, but saw it turn to a 31-28 halftime advantage. In the third, SACS pushed the score to 50-39.
Lady Warriors rolling
    Last Saturday in Dyer Brook, the Southern Aroostook Lady Warriors’ Jasmine Rockwell posted 18 points, alongside Shelby Hartin’s 14 points and nine rebounds to upend visiting Easton, 58-32.
    Sable Altvater netted 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Olivia Raymond added seven points for the winners.
    The Lady Warriors outscored Easton, 13-5 in the second quarter for a 25-15 advantage. And, after the third quarter, Southern Aroostook led 39-21.
    Last Thursday, the Southern Aroostook girls overpowered Greater Houlton Christian Academy, 79-25.
    Kristen Tarr keyed a well-balanced scoring attack for Southern Aroostook with 15 points, while Desirae Dubois tallied 12. Jess Tucker and Kaitlyn Sommers each posted 10 points for the winners.
    For GHCA, Olivia Lord scored eight points, while Destinee Neureuther added six points.
    GHCA teams defeated
    Both the boys and girls teams at the Greater Houlton Christian Academy were defeated by Madawaska and Washburn last week.
Pioneer Times photograph/Joseph Cyr
POST PLAY — Southern Aroostook’s Kaitlyn Sommers goes up against Easton’s Mindy Desmond during Saturday afternoon’s game in Dyer Brook.
    On Monday at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, the GHCA boys fell behind early and couldn’t recover taking a 65-46 loss.
    Deyrell Vargas led GHCA’s scoring with 19 points, followed by Ethan Holmes with 12 and Adam Little with six points.
    The Owls opened the game with a 19-7 advantage and pushed the lead to 40-22 at halftime. After three, Madawaska was ahead, 54-32.
    In girls action, the Lady Eagles were defeated 60-16 by visiting Madawaska.
    Destinee Neureuther led GHCA with six points.
    Madawaska led 17-4 after the first quarter and 33-8 at halftime, cruising to the win.
    Last Tuesday night, the GHCA teams lost to host Washburn.
    In the boys game, Washburn picked up a 72-48 win.
    Russell Socoby paced GHCA with 16 points, Micah Wiley tallied 15 more and Isaiah Straubel added eight.
    Washburn jumped to a 16-4 first-quarter lead and built a 36-18 halftime lead. In the third, Washburn had a 58-26 advantage.
    In the girls game, GHCA was overpowered 75-20.
    Lord scored nine points for the Lady Eagles, while Neureuther chipped in with seven more.
    Lady Cougars have busy week
    The Katahdin Lady Cougars had three games last week. Unfortunately, they came up empty in the win column.
    On Monday, the Lady Cougars were defeated 48-37 by visiting Central Aroostook, which improves to 11-2.
    Vicki McIntyre keyed CAHS with 23 points, while Kristen Long tossed in 14.
    For Katahdin, Megan Merry led the way with 11 points, Brittany Fogarty had nine; Myah Smallwood eight and Morgan Livezey six more.
    Central Aroostook opened the game on top, 10-8 and led at halftime, 25-15. After three, the Lady Panthers held a nine-point lead, 34-25.
    The Lady Cougars were held scoreless in the fourth, as Bangor Christian took a 37-12 win on Saturday at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor.
Photograph courtesy of Susie Tarr
JUMPER — Southern Aroostook’s Jesse Boulier squares up for a jumper over East Grand’s Robert Cousins during Monday night’s game in Dyer Brook.
    Fogarty led Katahdin with six points.
    Bangor Christian opened the game with a 5-0 advantage and held a 13-5 halftime lead. In the third, the Patriots went ahead 22-12.
    Last Thursday, the Lady Cougars fell to Schenck, 52-23 in East Millinocket.
    Smallwood led Katahdin with 11 points, while Merry scored nine; Fogarty had six and Makayla Patterson netted five.
    Schenck built a 33-15 halftime advantage and extended it to 42-21 after the third.