BANGOR, Maine — A sluggish start combined with an inability to convert from the free throw line proved disastrous for the Houlton girls basketball team Tuesday evening.
No. 4 Houlton (12-8 overall) fell 35-28 to No. 5 Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln (11-9) in an Eastern Class C quarterfinal game played at the Bangor Auditorium.
“There was no offensive flow tonight whatsoever,” Houlton coach Shawn Graham said. “You have to say hats off to Lincoln. You have to credit their defense.”
Tori Hanson led the Shires with nine points, 11 rebounds and an assist, while Natalie Hill tallied six points, two rebounds, four steals, and an assist.
For the Lynx, Taylor Blood tallied 10 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Ashley Libby added 10 points, five rebounds, and an assist.
Tuesday night’s game marked the third time this season that the teams met on the hardwood. Houlton beat the Lynx 38-32 at home and fell 36-28 on the road.
Houlton converted just five of 16 foul shots (31 percent), while the Lynx made nine of 19 free throws (47 percent).
“Our free throw shooting was pretty dismal,” coach Graham said. “And we missed some layups. The ball just didn’t fall tonight.”
From the onset, Houlton had difficulty connecting from the perimeter and at one point trailed 11-2 in the first quarter, before closing out the first period down 13-6.
In the second half, Houlton did a better job defensively, holding the Lynx to just three points, but were still facing a 16-12 deficit at the break.
The Shires played without the services of Katie Condon for much of the game as the freshman was in foul trouble early and took a seat on the bench. Junior Samantha Keegan was also nursing an ankle injury. Keegan played just over 11 minutes in the game, while Condon logged 21 minutes.
“She (Condon) is one of our better offensive players, and with Sam having the bum ankle, it took away some of our depth,” Graham said.
Houlton trailed 33-23 with four minutes to play and had a number of scoring opportunities late in the game, but simply couldn’t find the bottom of the net. And when the Shires tried penetrating to the hoop, Mattanawcook Academy’s Taylor Blood forced Houlton to alter its shots dramatically.
“Basketball is a game of runs and tonight we just didn’t have that game-changing run,” Graham said. “Tonight was just one of those nights where we couldn’t buy a hoop. It just wasn’t there.”
If there was a positive to take from the loss, Graham said it was a good opportunity for his underclassmen to get a taste of playing at the Bangor Auditorium.
“We’ll learn from this, build upon it, and we’ll be back next year,” he said.
HOULTON (28)
Pratt, Hill 2 2-4 6, Gentle, Keegan 1 0-0 2, Longstaff, Hanson 3 3-6 9, Jameson, Mooers, Dickison 1 0-4 2, Cameron 1 0-2 2, Condon 2 0-0 5, Toby 1 0-0 2. Totals: 11 5-16 28. 3-pointer — Condon.
MATT. ACADEMY (35)
Ryder, C. Libby, Maxwell 1 0-5 2, A. Thurlow, Bisson 1 0-0 2, Gardner 0 1-2 1, Krapf 4 1-3 9, K. Thurlow, Russell, McDonald, McIntyre 0 1-2 1, Blood 3 4-4 10, A. Libby 4 2-3 10. Totals: 13 9-19 35.
Shires 6 6 10 6 — 28
Lynx 13 3 10 9 — 35
