Shire girls fall short in semifinals

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
 BANGOR, Maine — The Cinderella season for the Houlton girls basketball team came to an end Friday evening at the Cross Insurance Center as the No. 5 Shires (13-7 overall) fell to top-ranked Calais, 53-29.
Calais (19-2) went on to win its second consecutive Eastern Class C title with a 49-30 victory over No. 2 Orono Saturday.    Houlton was one of only two teams to beat Calais during the regular season. The Shires beat Calais 61-52 at Houlton Jan. 9, but lost 60-25 at Calais Jan. 18. Ellsworth is the only other squad to beat Calais thus far. Friday night’s game resembled the Jan. 18 game as Houlton struggled to find any offensive rhythm against the Blue Devils.
Sophomore Katie Condon led Houlton with 12 points, while seniors Jessica Dickison and Brianna Longstaff each netted six points.
Paige Gillespie and Maddy McVicar paced Calais with 13 points each.
“This team gave me every ounce of energy they had every single night,” Houlton coach Shawn Graham said. “Calais was just a bad matchup for us. We allow about 34 points a game, but in the three times we played them this year, they put 50-plus up on us.”
Houlton’s victory over Calais at home was the Shires’ single highest point total scored on the year.
“They (Calais) are bigger and stronger,” Graham continued. “When we don’t rebound well, we struggle.”
Neither team was particularly effective in the first few minutes of Friday’s semifinal. Houlton finally broke the scoring ice with 6:18 to play in the quarter as Longstaff drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Following a Calais basket on the opposite end, Longstaff struck again with another three, giving Houlton a 6-2 edge.
Condon also drained a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter, including one with just seconds to go. Things looked promising at that point, as Houlton answered the opening bell against the Blue Devils. But in the second period, Calais quickly started to control the inside game, limiting Houlton to just one shot attempt, while converting on their end of the court.
The Shires did a good job containing Calais’ biggest scoring threat — McVicar — for much of the game as Dickison played tight defense on the talented point guard.
“We tried very hard to slow her down,” Graham said. “McVicar is arguably the best player in Class C.”
Houlton remained in striking distance at the halftime break, down 29-20. Things took a dramatic turn, however, when starting point guard Natalie Hill went down with an ankle injury in the opening moments of the second half. Losing Hill served as a turning point in the game, the coach said.
“We lost a very good point guard and at that point I had to bring Katie (Condon) out to handle the point guard spot, which in turn, hurt us down low.” Graham said.
Houlton trainer Chris Rines spent time with Hill working on her ankle at the end of the bench. Hill tried walking a bit, but was unable to put much weight on the foot.
Condon drained her third 3-pointer of the game with 5:50 to play, cutting the Calais lead to 29-23, but the Blue Devils then went on a 7-0 scoring run to break open the game and Houlton never recovered.
Houlton was 11-of-42 from the floor (26 percent), while Calais was 19-of-48 (40 percent) from the field. Foul shots also swung in favor of the Blue Devils as Calais made 11 of 19 free throws (58 percent), while Houlton converted two of five foul shots (40 percent).
HOULTON (29)
Gentle, Holmes, Hill, Mooers 1 0-0 2, Keegan 1 1-2 3, Longstaff 2 0-0 6, Peterson, Boyd, Dickison 3 0-2 6, Fitzpatrick, Condon 4 1-1 12, Collett, Toby. Totals: 11 2-5 29. 3-pointers — Condon 3, Longstaff 2
CALAIS (53)
Hatch, McVicar 4 3-4 13, Black 0 2-2 2, Johnson 4 1-3 10, Smith 1 0-2 3, Cavanaugh, Cundiff 2 0-0 4, Moholland, Hold 1 0-0 2, Carter 2 3-5 7, Gillespie 5 2-3 13. Totals: 19 11-19 53. 3-pointers — McVicar 2, Johnson, Smith.
Shires    12    8    8    1    —    29
Blue Devils    15    14    14    10    —    53