Sports Editor
PRESQUE ISLE — A regular-season showdown between Presque Isle and Caribou gave girls basketball fans something to relish Wednesday evening as the two teams met in Presque Isle. And for the better part of the game, the fans got their money’s worth as the two teams battled back and forth in a tightly contested game.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
Jamie Martin tries to keep Presque Isle defender Chelsea Nickerson at bay during last Wednesday’s game at PIHS. Caribou stayed close for most of the game, but lost, 46-35.
Presque Isle (17-1) pulled away in the final five minutes for a 46-35 victory. The Wildcats also beat Fort Kent 59-53 Friday evening to close out the regular season
On Wednesday, Caribou (8-10) had everything to gain from an upset victory and played with solid determination for much of the game. A victory over the Wildcats would have guaranteed Caribou of a spot in the postseason. Instead, the Vikings were handed their fifth straight loss.
“We played with a lot of heart and desire that I had not seen all season,” Caribou coach Bill Schofield said. “I’ve seen it in spurts. This game meant a lot to us. We’re a young team with two seniors, and there was not a lot of returning players having lost eight seniors. We’ve gotten better along the way, but we just couldn’t seem to get it in their heads how to close out games.”
Presque Isle’s Chandler Guerrette led all players with 20 points, including three 3-pointers. Two of Guerrette’s treys game at the buzzer at the end of the second and third quarters. Kayla Richards chipped in eight points.
For Caribou, Jenna Selander once again led the way with 16 points, while Danielle Soucy added eight.
The Wildcats took a quick 6-0 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Johnston and Kofstad, but then the Vikings sailed back with an 8-2 run with a pair of baskets from Selander and Soucy to end the first quarter knotted at 8-8.
The Vikings took their first lead as play resumed in the second quarter when Selander went in for a layup, but that lead proved short-lived as Presque Isle went on a 5-0 run, all from Guerrette, to re-take the lead 13-10 with 5:00 to play in the half.
Caribou managed to go back on top 19-16 late in the quarter, but Presque Isle closed out the half with a 5-2 run to knot the game at 21-21 at the buzzer.
In the third quarter, Presque Isle maintained its lead, but Caribou remained within striking distance throughout, as the stanza ended with the Wildcats up 32-27.
The Vikings stayed close for much of the final quarter before Presque Isle slowly pulled away thanks to strong free throw shooting. Presque Isle was a perfect six-for-six from the foul line in the final 1:22 and finished 16-of-24 (67 percent) on the night. In comparison, Caribou made six of 11 foul shots (55 percent).
“They [Presque Isle] did a real nice job of making adjustments at halftime,” coach Schofield said. “Defensively, Presque Isle went into a 1-2-1 zone and that slowed us down offensively.”
