STACYVILLE, Maine — Using a balanced scoring attack, and playing its best game of the season defensively, the No. 7 Katahdin girls rolled past No. 10 East Grand/GHCA 66-36 in a Class D North prelim on Feb. 9, 2016.
The Cougars (10-9) advanced to play No. 2 Washburn (14-4) in the quarterfinals Saturday at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. The two teams did not meet during the regular season. The Vikings end their season with an 8-11 record.
Katahdin senior Courtney Stevens led her team with 19 points, including many slashing buckets in the paint. Junior Georgia Landry chipped in 17 points, and senior Molly Cunningham added 12 for the Cougars.
East Grand of Danforth junior Sarah Stoddard led all players with 20 points, and senior Kim Stoddard added 11 points.
“I think the key for us in this game is that we played really good defense tonight,” Katahdin coach Jona Fitzpatrick said. “Hands down, my girls came to play tonight.”
East Grand/GHCA scored the first points of the game as Stoddard sank one of two foul shots a minute into the action, but Katahdin took the lead with 5:48 remaining in the first quarter when Cunningham converted a layup and was fouled. She sank the free throw giving the Cougars a 3-1 edge, and the Vikings never led again as Katahdin went on a 17-8 run to close out the period.
Throughout the game, Katahdin penetrated to the basket and either took the layup or dished the ball off to an open teammate in the low post for an uncontested shot.
“When Georgia [Landry] is able to drive and dish like that, it really helps our offense,” Fitzpatrick said.
The Vikings missed a number of open layups in the first half and had a tough time rebounding against the taller Katahdin squad.
“We’ve matured as a team this season,” East Grand/GHCA coach Mike Carlos said. “Sometimes we show up and sometimes we don’t.”
For the Cougars, getting a chance to play in Bangor has been the goal all season-long. Katahdin’s last playoff appearance came in 2014 when the team fell in the prelims to Fort Fairfield. The last time Katahdin played in Bangor was believed to be 2009 when the team lost to Fort Fairfield in the quarterfinals.
“We have worked very hard this season and faced some very tough competition,” Fitzpatrick said. “Our schedule was tough against a lot of C teams. I think it has made us better. We will be ready come Saturday night.”
