By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
The preliminary rounds went as expected in the girls’ bracket, with the only upset being the No. 10 John Bapst Crusaders edging No. 7 Medomak, 33-32, to move onto the Class B quarterfinals
In the local area, the four teams in the preliminary round were eliminated by the higher seed.
Even though No. 7 Limestone/MSSM grabbed a 14-2 lead to start the game, the No. 10 Greater Houlton Christian Academy made a run in the second, closing the margin to single numbers. By halftime, Limestone/MSSM had taken a 32-20 lead. In the third, Limestone/MSSM broke the game open, 50-30.
Melissa Cantafio keyed Limestone/MSSM’s first-quarter drive with seven points, finishing with a game-high 21 points. Chelsey Pelkey and Mariah Williams knocked down 17 and 15 points respectively. Pelkey just missed a triple-double as she had 10 assists and eight boards. Alexis Bell hauled in 10 rebounds for the winners.
For GHCA, 12-7, Colby Walker scored 13 points, while eighth-grader Kristen Brewer tossed in 10 more. Rylee Warman had eight points and Makayla Watson added five.
Last Tuesday in Van Buren, the No. 2 Crusaders picked up a lopsided 84-28 win over No. 15 East Grand. The Crusaders opened the game with a 17-5 advantage and by halftime, they had built a 42-13 cushion. After three, the Crusaders poured it on, leading 68-18.
Parise Rossignol had her way with a game-high 47 points, along with seven rebounds and seven assists for the Crusaders. Felisha Bouchard finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Courtney Parent chipped in with a dozen points.
The No. 2 Crusaders faced No. 7 Limestone/MSSM in the girls Class C quarterfinal game held on Monday at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. The winner of that game moves on to Thursday’s semifinal.
For East Grand, who closes out their season 4-15, Sarah Stoddard had 12 points and nine rebounds while Hayleigh Shay added 10 points. Kim Stoddard dropped in four points, but grabbed six rebounds.
The No. 3 Fort Fairfield Tigers grabbed an early lead en route to a 64-38 victory over No. 14 Katahdin.
The Tigers took a 14-5 first-quarter advantage and extended it to 33-15 at intermission. After the third, Fort Fairfield was in control, 50-29.
Taylor Churchill scored 13 points and Logan Bubar added 12 more to pace Fort Fairfield’s offense. Secondary scorers were Janae Libby with nine points and Whitney McNamee and Nicole Giberson with eight each.
The 14-5 Tigers moved to the Class D quarterfinal round on Monday where they met No. 6 Penobscot Valley.
For Katahdin, 9-10, Courtney Stevens hit double figures with 11 points, while Morgan Livezey chipped in with seven more. Delaney Fitzpatrick and Molly Cunningham each scored six points.
The second closest preliminary score was in the No. 6 Penobscot Valley and No. 11 Southern Aroostook game in Howland.
The Howlers narrowly defeated SACS, 60-54.
The Lady Warriors held a one-point first-quarter lead, 7-6, but the score was knotted at halftime, 20-all. The Howlers outscored SACS, 19-13, to gain the third-quarter edge, 39-33.
Sami Ireland scored 17 of her 22 points in the second half of play, while Shaelyn Jones tossed in 13. Molly McGinn chipped in with 12 and Amy Hallett added eight more for the winners.
For SACS, who finish the season 12-7, Kennedi Smith poured in a game-high 28 points. She connected for 24 of those points from behind the 3-point line. Sable Altvater tossed in 12 and Olivia Raymond added seven.
In boys’ action, the No. 3 Hodgdon Hawks handled visiting No. 14 Wisdom easily, 66-37 last Wednesday in Hodgdon.
During the game, transfer student Deyrell Vargas scored his 1,000th high school point. Vargas was fouled two minutes into the fourth on a 3-pointer, hitting his second free throw to reach the milestone. Vargas played four years at Greater Houlton Christian Academy, playing varsity as an eighth-grader. (See related story on Page 7.)
The Hawks jumped to a 16-6 first-quarter lead and continued to pull away from the Pioneers. Hodgdon outscored Wisdom, 16-2, to hold a 32-8 halftime cushion. After three, the Hawks extended their lead to 49-14.
For Hodgdon, Vargas scored a game-high 24 points, while Chris Hudson tossed in 19 and Devin Quint finished with 10 more.
For Wisdom, closing out their season at 8-11, Dominic Roy netted 13 points and Justin Pelletier added 10.
The Hawks played Saturday night in the Class D quarterfinals against No. 6 Fort Fairfield at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
In another Class D preliminary game in Dyer Brook, the No. 5 Southern Aroostook Warriors hosted No. 12 Central Aroostook of Mars Hill.
The game was close throughout, but when CAHS’ Chandler Brewer fouled out of the game, the Warriors distanced themselves for a 63-44 win.
Freshman Jackson Mathers led the way for Southern Aroostook with 21 points, while freshman teammate Nolan Altvater added 14 more. Cody Lassonde and Will McGary each had seven points in the contest, while Cam Landry chipped in with six.
For CAHS, Dustin Pryor and Brewer each had 13 points, while Spencer Garrison tossed in eight and Zack McClung added six.
The Southern Aroostook Warriors met No. 4 Deer Isle-Stonington in Monday’s Class D quarterfinal game at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. (See tourney stories on Page 7.)
