Lady Shires take big win over Calais

Hoop Summaries
The push is on for positions within the Heal Point standings with the last two weeks of regular season play. Teams have come up with point-worthy wins in the waning seconds of games, while others have seen the game within their grasp and it has slipped away.
Last week’s recaps are as follows:
Cameron hits buzzer-beater
The Houlton girls likely picked up enough points with the team’s win Saturday night over visiting Calais, 45-43 to keep them in first place in the Class C girls Heal Point standings.
“I think we will still need one more big win to stay locked into number one,” said Houlton coach Shawn Graham. “If anything, I believe [the Calais win] was a huge confidence-builder for the girls heading into the tournament.”
The Lady Shires led 8-6 to start the game, but trailed at halftime, 23-22. After three, the score was tied at 33-all setting up a dramatic finish.
“They had us at every position in terms of height, therefore we knew we had to work really hard rebounding the ball and doubling the post,” said Graham.
The Blue Devils defeated Houlton, 64-46 in Calais on Jan. 14.
Graham said in Calais, the Blue Devils were very physical underneath.
“This time, I thought we did a great job being a little more physical ourselves, while boxing out and forcing the bigger girls to reach over our backs, which caused them to get into foul trouble,” Graham explained. “Our guards also did an excellent job at containing their point and shooting guards. (Redding and Hill combined for only one field goal and four free throws for the Blue Devils.) Taylor Bailey came up big on the defensive end containing Gillespie under the basket (four points). Gillespie really hurt us at Calais where she had 18 points and a dozen rebounds or so.”
When the Blue Devils did make a surge to go ahead in the final quarter, Houlton answered, chipping away at their lead.
“I thought the girls also showed a lot of poise,” Graham said.
Amanda Fogarty hit crucial free throws with 25 seconds left to tie the game at 43-all. Graham called a timeout and came out in a 1-3-1 press and forced a turnover on a jump ball.
“We then went into our delay offense and played for the last shot,” Graham said.
With time slipping away, it was Marina Cameron, who drove to the right wing, making an eight-footer off the glass at the buzzer to lift her team to victory.
Fogarty carried the scoring load with 20 points, including 7-for-8 from the line, while Taylor Bailey handled the boards, grabbing 11 rebounds, while scoring 13 points. Cameron and Tori Hanson each added six points for the winners.
Last Tuesday, the Lady Shires were routed by Class B host Presque Isle, 85-49.
The Houlton girls trailed 43-22 at halftime and the Wildcats extended their lead over three quarters, 64-37.
Fogarty scored 15 points, while Bailey tossed in 11 to key Houlton.
Shires drop games
The Shiretowners were defeated Saturday night by visiting Lee, 75-43.
Lee jumped to a 26-11 first-quarter lead and extended it over three quarters, 56-32.
Nick Guiod paced Houlton with 13 points, while Micah Goetsch and Dan Swallow each had eight points.
Last Wednesday, the Houlton boys were upended 77-34 by host Schenck.
The Wolverines held a 40-22 halftime lead and after three were ahead, 56-30.
Doug Dickison paced Houlton with eight points, while Guiod and Swallow each had seven points.
Hodgdon teams playing hard
The Hodgdon Hawks were ahead of Calais through first-half action, but the visiting Blue Devils came back in the third and went on to grab a 62-49 victory in Hodgdon.
The Hawks led 15-11 to start the game and held a 27-23 halftime advantage. In the third, Calais overtook Hodgdon, 44-35.
Nick Lunn of Hodgdon was the game-high scorer with 23 points, while Josh Hudson posted 10 more. Jake Tidd added eight points and Devon Logie chipped in with six.
Last Wednesday, the Hawks overpowered visiting East Grand, 50-19 behind Hudson’s 22 points.
The Hawks led 28-6 at halftime and 41-15 after the third en route to the win.
Tidd pitched in with 11 points for Hodgdon, while Logie added six.
For East Grand, Dustin Morse scored nine points, while D.J. Schumann had five.
In girls action, the Hodgdon Lady Hawks overtook visiting East Grand, 58-34.
Hodgdon started the game with a 12-8 advantage and held a 20-12 halftime lead. In the third, Hodgdon spread the score to 42-28.
Cierra Willette tossed in 15 points to pace Hodgdon, while Haley Gardiner scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Mariah Wiley had nine points for the winners.
For East Grand, Elisha Farley and Kim Armstrong each had 10 points. Shaunna Beaudoin chipped in with six more.
Cougars in the hunt in Class D
The Katahdin Cougars picked up a lopsided 62-13 win at home on Monday over East Grand, while overtaking Ashland, 78-39 last Thursday. But, last Tuesday, they watched the game slip away against Central Aroostook, 41-30.
Against East Grand, Billy Livezey and Brandon Robinson both scored 10 points, as the Cougars opened the game with a 24-4 lead and cruised to the win. Colton Bivighouse had nine points and Jesse McNally added seven.
Cleve Kenyon led East Grand with six points.
Against Ashland, the Cougars extended their first-quarter lead 15-10 into a 31-19 halftime advantage. After the third, Katahdin kept the lead in double-figures, 52-39.
Bivighouse led the way with 22 points for Katahdin, while Kolby Gallagher netted 12 points and Wyatt Morse added 10. Robinson tossed in eight; Livezey and J. McNally each chipped in with seven and Brady McNally added six.
At Mars Hill, the Cougars led 15-10 to open the game and held an 18-14 halftime advantage. In the third, the teams played to an even score of 24-all.
“We executed exactly what we were trying to do,” said Katahdin coach Shawn Craig. “We didn’t get in a running game. We controlled the tempo and played great defense.”
But, in the final quarter, the Panthers outscored Katahdin, 17-6 to take the win.
“With about four minutes to go, we missed three or four wide open layups and three free throws,” explained Craig. “Central didn’t miss their shots. That was the game in about a one- to two-minute span. We then had to foul to stop the clock and Central Aroostook being who they are, did not miss.”
CAHS was led by Mike McClung’s 13 points and Caleb Kelley’s 12, while Katahdin’s Robinson tossed in 14 points.
The Cougars played their opponents very tough.
“That was maybe our best game of year, except for the win we didn’t get,” said Craig. “We may not have pulled it off, but it would have been a one- or two-point game had we made some of those shots.”
Craig’s team has slipped to eighth in the latest Heal Point standings.
“We need to keep executing and getting better for game number 19,” said Craig. “Hopefully, that will be on the Bangor Auditorium floor. The boys are gelling together each practice and each game. I hope we will be at our peak come tourney time.”
The Lady Cougars also played Ashland and East Grand, as well. Against Ashland, the Lady Cougars fell, 49-30, while they came away with a 46-35 victory over East Grand.
Against Ashland, the Lady Cougars trailed 27-15 at halftime and 40-23 after the third.
Brittany Fogarty led Katahdin with eight points, while Megan Merry had seven and Bailey McNally six more.
Against East Grand, Merry led Katahdin with 18 points, while McNally tossed in 12 and  Fogarty added 11.
For East Grand, Elisa Farley scored 13, while Shaunna Beaudoin and Kim Armstrong each chipped in with six points.
On Saturday, the Lady Vikings fell to host Shead, 62-24. The Tigers led 31-9 at halftime en route to the win.
Beaudoin led East Grand with nine points, while Farley had seven.
Lady Warriors pull upset
The Southern Aroostook girls team had two wins last week over Limestone and Washburn.
The Lady Warriors pulled out a huge upset, 50-49, over visiting Washburn on Monday in the last seconds of the game.
The teams played evenly in the first quarter, 11-all and it continued through the second with a tie at halftime, 21-all. In the third, Washburn took a 36-31 lead. But, the game went down to the wire, with Southern Aroostook senior Jasmine Rockwell sticking a short jumper with six seconds left to give her team the victory.
Sable Altvater led SACS with 14 points, while Shelby Hartin had 13. Rockwell finished with 10 points on the night and Olivia Raymond added seven.
Last Wednesday, the Lady Warriors had no problems with visiting Limestone, taking a 54-38 win.
Hartin led SACS scorers with 18 points, while hauling down 12 rebounds. Rockwell pumped in 12 points, while Altvater netted 10 and Raymond added eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Lady Warriors led 24-15 at halftime and maintained their advantage, 34-27, after the third.
GHCA teams win, lose
The Greater Houlton Christian Academy boys and girls played Wisdom in St. Agatha last Wednesday. The Eagles came away with a 70-63 victory, while the girls suffered a 50-23 loss.
In the boys game, the Eagles took a 35-20 advantage at halftime and held the lead after three, 53-40.
Ethan Holmes keyed GHCA with 23 points, while Deyrell Vargas hit for 13 points. Adam Little posted 10 points, while Micah Wiley and Russell Socoby each had eight points. GHCA went 29-of-41 from the stripe, while Wisdom was 14-of-22.
In the girls game, GHCA fell behind 22-15 at halftime and were outscored, 12-3 in the third, 34-18.
Lauren Bishop scored seven points, while Amber Michaud added six points for the Lady Eagles.
The Greater Houlton Christian Academy girls also lost to host Van Buren, 71-18 last Saturday.
Michaud led GHCA with six points.