Two straight wins for Houlton girls

HOULTON, Maine — A low-scoring affair swung in favor of the Houlton girls basketball team Wednesday evening as the Shiretowners beat visiting Caribou 34-27.
Houlton’s Vanessa Sanderson led all players with 13 points, while Martha McPartland added seven; Taylor Bailey, six; Makala Folsom, four; and Amanda Fogarty and Marina Cameron, both two.
For Caribou, Jenna Selander led the way with 11 points, while Dauma Michud added eight; Alexa Massey, six; and Danielle Soucy, two.
Selander staked the Vikings to a quick 5-0 lead as she showed strong baseline moves, including a layup off a full-court pass as Houlton tried to press the Vikings defensively.
Houlton had difficulty finding its shooting touch, but finally broke the scoring ice with 3:37 to play in the first quarter when Taylor Bailey converted an offensive rebound and was fouled. Sanderson also converted a missed shot with a putback as Houlton bridged the gap to 5-4 by the end of the first quarter.
“Our team plays with a lot of heart,” Houlton coach Shawn Graham said. “There are times when we struggle offensively to get things going. However, the girls are pretty good at cracking down on defense when the shots aren’t falling. Caribou packed in a 2-3 zone and therefore it was very difficult to get any dribble penetration in the seams.”
To counter Houlton’s full -ourt press, Caribou resorted to long lobs in the first quarter, which resulted in Selander’s two scores.
“We decided to play behind on the first initial inbounds pass, then jump the ball and look for a quick trap,” coach Graham said. “Our game plan coming in was the 1-3-1 zone. We’ve had pretty good success against them in the past, so we decided to try it again.”
Selander continued to be the Vikings’ focal point as she scored on a reverse layup to start the second quarter, but Houlton countered quickly as McPartland drained a 3-pointer from the left corner to knot the game at 7-7. The Shires took their first lead with 6:24 to play in the half as Sanderson drained a short-range jumper for the 9-7 lead.
Houlton never trailed again as the Shires took a 15-13 lead into the locker room at halftime. That lead grew to 24-19 after three quarters.
Caribou made a run in the fourth stanza, cutting the lead to 28-25 with 2:01 to play, Houlton’s defense stiffened and the Shires did a nice job down the stretch from the foul line to seal the victory.
Houlton converted 9 of 17 free throws (53 percent), while Caribou made 7 of 12 foul shots (58 percent).
Shires make it two in a row
Houlton 53, Madawaska 31 — At Houlton Friday, the Shires outscored Madawaska 18-5 in the second quarter behind Sanderson’s 10 points to take a 28-11 halftime lead. In the second half, the Shires built a 40-22 third quarter lead en route to the win.
Sanderson finished with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds, while McPartland connected for 17 points and four steals.