The following is a recap of games played through Monday, Dec. 21.
Van Buren 54, Ashland 50 — At Van Buren Saturday, the Crusaders edged the Hornets in aback-and-forth contest for their first win of the season. Ashland played without the services of starter Macie Pelkey, who was unable to play due to a commitment, coach Kevin Paradis said.
Van Buren led 16-9, 23-17 and 42-33 at the quarter breaks. Jessica Jimmo led Ashland with 14 points, while Anna Paradis added 10; Taylor Baker, nine; Brooke LaBelle, seven; Whitney Donovan, six; and Jade Tilley, four.
For Van Buren, Ashlie Wilson was a scoring machine as she drained 31 points in the win. Other Crusader scorers were Jen Ouellette, 15; Natasha Bourgoin, six; and Brittany Duprey, two.
“We made a late run to make it interesting, but our poor shooting all game bit us,” Paradis said. “I thought my girls played very hard. They looked exhausted from the previous night. We made a late run, but didn’t have enough left in the tank.”
Central Aroostook 55, Wisdom 21 — At Mars Hill Friday, the Panthers rolled to an easy victory over Wisdom. Rachael Grew had 26 points, including 15 in the third quarter, to go along with five steals. Vicky McIntyre added 16 points with 14 rebounds and six steals. Other Panther scorers were: Kristen Long, five; and Brea York and Sarah Grass, both three.
Deliya Michaud and Kayla Guerrette both scored six points for the Pioneers.
Ashland 64, Easton 41 — At Ashland Friday, Jade Tilley netted 19 points to lead Ashland to the win. Other Hornet scorers were Jimmo, 12; Baker, eight; LaBelle, seven; Adrianna Paradis, six; Kayla Cote, five; Macie Pelkey, four; and Donovan, three.
For Easton, Carla Halvorson tallied 15 points, while Adrianna Babineau added 11; Desmond, eight; Sydney Trask, four; and Sarah Plourde three.
Ashland led 19-10, 27-18 and 41-27 at the quarter breaks.
“The story of this game was Jade Tilley,” coach Paradis said. “She came off the bench to score her career high, including 17 in the second half. Jade also pulled down 14 rebounds and was 5 of 6 on her free throws.”
Central Aroostook 36, Madawaska 33 — At Madawaska Dec. 17, Brianna Hartin hit a 3-pointer with about 11 seconds remaning to put Central Aroostook up by a point. The Panthers held off Madawaska for the win.
Grew led CAHS with 11 points, while McIntyre added 10; Chelsea Hartin, eight; Briana Hartin, five; and Long, two.
Emma Dionne had 12 points for the Owls.
The Panthers led 14-8, 21-16 and 23-22 at the quarter breaks.
“CAHS came out victorious with a had fought game with Madawaska” coach Rod Codrey said. “We were down by four points with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter. Rachael Grew hit a big three pointer from the corner. Madawaska got a foul shot to put them back up by two with about 30 seconds left. We came down the floor worked the ball around with 11 seconds left on the clock Brianna Hartin hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key.”
Madawaska turned the ball over with just five seconds remaining and Brianna Hartin converted a layup to seal the Panther victory.
Fort Fairfield 69, Van Buren 18 — At Fort Fairfield Dec. 16, Amanda Hotham scored 15 points to lead Fort Fairfield past Van Buren. Other Tiger scorers were Sydney Churchill, 12 points; Rebecca Pelkey and Kelsey Turner, Brooke Beaulieu and Courtney Churchill, each six; Emily Blaisdell and Kelsie Wilson, both four; and Dani Shaw and Kacie York, both two.
For Van Buren, Wilson led the Crusaders with 10 points.
Fort Fairfield led 17-2, 26-13 and 49-14 at the quarter breaks.
Easton 40, Limestone/MSSM 39 — At Limestone Dec. 15, Halvorson scored six of her 15 points in the fourth quarter to help Easton hold off Limestone Community School-Maine School of Science and Mathematics. Trask added nine points for the Bears while Babineau, six; Brooke Hammond and Mindy Desmond, both four; and Plourde, two.
For the Eagles, Caitlin Good netted 14 points, while Savanna Gray added seven; Stephanie Leighton, six; Chelsea Leighton, four; and Victoria St. Pierre, two.
Limestone-MSSM led 13-9 in the first quarter, but Easton tied the game at 16-16 at halftime. The Eagles regained the lead 28-26 after three stanzas.
Local girls squads keep busy
It was a busy week on the hardwood for Aroostook County girls basketball teams. With many teams preparing some time off due to Christmas vacation, that meant a slew of games leading up to the break. Ashland played on back-to-back nights, while Central Aroostook and Limestone-MSSM also had several games on the week
