The Caribou girls and boys’ basketball teams wrapped up a brutal stretch of lengthy road trips Saturday, with both squads losing to the Orono Red Riots.
The Vikings headed down I-95 on three occasions in an eight-day stretch, playing at Mount Desert Island Dec. 31 and at Ellsworth Jan. 2 prior to Saturday’s trip to Orono. The girls even had a home game against Fort Kent sprinkled in.
At the midway point of the regular season, Caribou currently owns the 12th and final playoff spot in Class B North. Coach Ryan Deprey’s team took on Presque Isle Tuesday in another road contest.
Fort Fairfield is ninth in the ‘C’ ranks and LCS/MSSM is 17th, while Washburn is in seventh place in Class D.
For boys, Caribou is in 14th place with its 2-6 record. The young Vikings have now lost five straight heading into tonight’s game in Presque Isle.
With a 6-1 mark, Fort Fairfield is second in Class C and LCS/MSSM is 11th and in the playoff hunt. The Washburn boys are currently 10th in Class D.
Summaries of last week’s games are as follows:
Girls
East Grand 44, LCS/MSSM 30
Sarah Stoddard scored 19 points and Haleigh Shay hit three fourth-quarter 3-pointers en route to a 13-point total as the Vikings stopped the Eagles in Limestone Monday.
Freshman Taylor Labreck scored 16 points for the Eagles, now 2-5.
Orono 49, Caribou 40
Maddie Doucette drained five 3-point field goals and finished with 17 points, but the Vikings were outlasted at Orono Saturday.
Doucette had four of her 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Vikes were able to keep the game close. Gabrielle Marquis totaled 10 points for 2-7 Caribou.
Kassidy Dill scored 14 points and Hannah Steelman added 12 for 2-5 Orono.
Southern Aroostook 66, Washburn 30
Sydney Brewer scored 25 points and three other Warriors reached double figures as the Warriors improved to 6-0 Saturday with the easy win.
Maggie Castonguay and Alexis Carney led the host Beavers (4-4) with eight points each.
LCS/MSSM 35, Wisdom 29
The Eagles held off the Pioneers in St. Agatha Friday as Eagle freshman Taylor Labreck fired in 19 points to lead the charge. Stephanie Bragg added eight for 2-4 LCS/MSSM. Emma Chamberland’s eight points were tops for Wisdom.
Caribou 53, Fort Kent 42
The host Vikings bolted to a 23-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back in the win over Fort Kent which avenged an early-season loss. “We started in a fullcourt press and it really got the girls aggressive and it suited our up-tempo style very well,” said Caribou coach Ryan Deprey.
Gabrielle Marquis poured in 24 points for the Vikings (2-6) and continued her string of strong offensive outings. “She has really come into her own as she has always looked to score, but the ball is going in with some consistency,” Deprey said. “She’s not only scoring but she is filling the stat sheet with rebounds, assists and steals too.”
LaPointe paced the Warriors (5-3) with 19 points.
“In typical Fort Kent fashion, they didn’t go away and kept battling until the buzzer,” Deprey added. “We’ve been playing better as of late, so hopefully we can get the ball rolling a little bit.”
Fort Fairfield 59, LCS/MSSM 26
Freshman Riley Clough led a balanced attack with 12 points as the Tigers topped the Eagles in Fort Fairfield Thursday. Cammi King-DeMerchant and Sadie Edgecomb (three 3-pointers) netted 10 points each and Emma Campbell and Amber Sherwood had eight each for the Tigers, who improved to 3-5. LaBreck, also a freshman, led LCS/MSSM with 12 points.
Washburn 40, Ashland 32
The Beavers’ fullcourt defense paid dividends as they held off the Hornets in a competitive contest Thursday in Ashland. “We were able to put on pressure and get some transition points, which is always key for us,” said Washburn coach Tyler Putnam. “Ashland played hard for four quarters and never gave up.”
Castonguay, a freshman, was the only player for Washburn to reach double figures with 14 points. Skylar Mette had nine and Kassandra Farley eight. Olivia Tardie led the 3-5 Hornets with 11 points, while Morgan Doughty and Micayla Driscoll added six each.
“It was a good game that went back and forth, but the difference was amount of fouls as Washburn took 16 foul shots and we had six,” said Ashland coach Whitney Flint, who suited up just seven players. “They put on a good press towards the end and we had a hard time with that.”
Boys
East Grand 50, LCS/MSSM 25
The Vikings of Danforth broke a seven-game losing streak to begin the season with a convincing win in Limestone Monday.
The Eagles led by six at the end of the first quarter, but were outscored 29-2 over the second and third periods to see their record fall to 2-5. Matt Martin had nine points and Alex Sprague eight for LCS/MSSM.
Thomas Gilman’s 24 points paced East Grand.
Orono 75, Caribou 40
A 27-9 first-quarter surge helped lift the Red Riots to the lopsided victory at home Saturday.
Jake Koffman led a group of four double-figure scorers with 16 points for 6-2 Orono, while Austin Findlen had 15 points to key the offense for Caribou (2-6). Alex Bouchard added 12 and Parker Deprey 10 for the Vikings.
Southern Aroostook 85, Washburn 45
Jackson Mathers scored 15 third-quarter points and had 23 in the game as the Warriors rolled at Washburn Saturday to sweep the season series between the two teams.
Nolan Atvater had 13 points despite battling foul trouble throughout and Jayden Burpee netted 11 for the Warriors, who upped their mark to 7-0 and lead the way in the Class D North division.
Caleb Thompson scored 22 points and Quintin Thompson had 17 for the Beavers.
Fort Fairfield 65, LCS/MSSM 33
The Tigers took the lead early and were never threatened in the home triumph Saturday over LCS/MSSM. Chris Giberson’s 22 points led Fort Fairfield, winners of four straight, while Jared Harvey posted 13 more.
Mason Patten tallied 13 for the 2-5 Eagles.
Ashland 59, Washburn 47
On Thursday, Steven Bellanceau poured in 20 points and Kyle Beaulier had 17 as Ashland (2-5) picked up the victory over the Beavers in Ashland. McCall Turner led Washburn with 20 points and Caleb Thompson contributed 14 more.
“This was big for the kids,” said Hornet coach Lucas Belanger. “It showed that we are ready to beat upper-level programs when we play to our full potential and it puts us in the playoff hunt, which the program hasn’t seen in a few years.”
