Lady Shires lose in triple OT

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    The Houlton High School girls traveled to Fort Kent last Saturday for a mutual season opener, and what a game it turned out to be, as it went into triple overtime before a winner was declared.
    Houlton was defeated, 64-60.
    Marina Cameron led the offense with 20 points, including five 3-pointers, while Amanda Fogarty tossed in 13 and Tori Hanson and Bre Longstaff each added nine. Samantha Keegan scored eight in a well-balanced attack.
    For Fort Kent, Sam Carapellucci scored a game-high 21 points, while Michela Desjardins had seven of her 14 in overtime. Brittany Theriault added 11 points and Lauren Doak chipped in with 10 for the winners.
    The Lady Shires pulled ahead in the first half, 31-23 and held that eight-point lead after the third quarter. But, the wheels started falling off the wagon in the final eight minutes, as they were outscored 16-8.
    “We were up by two points and with the ball at the end of regulation,” recounted Houlton coach Shawn Graham. “Fort Kent was forced to foul, which they did. We missed four consecutive free throws.”
    With under 10 seconds left, Fort Kent tied the scored.
    “We were plagued with foul trouble the entire fourth quarter,” explained Graham. “And, all three overtimes.”
    Starter Hanson took a seat on the bench first, with a few minutes left in regulation. Then, Keegan joined her in the first overtime and Fogarty was the third player out in the second overtime. The Lady Shires had only two starters on the floor for half of the second overtime and all of the third.
    “For a team that isn’t real deep off the bench, we struggled mentally in terms of confidence when the starters were lost,” explained Graham. “Also, we are not very big and we could ill afford to lose our two biggest players in Hanson and Keegan.”
    With the post players sitting, Fort Kent capitalized by pushing the ball inside to take the win.
    With under 10 seconds left in the third overtime, Cameron had a good look from beyond the arc, but the shot fell short. The Lady Shires finished 18 of 32 from the line.
    “We need to be better in that area,” said Graham. “I thought we outplayed them for the first three quarters, but fatigue and foul trouble set in during the fourth. We just couldn’t seem to finish.”
    The Houlton junior varsity team picked up a 36-25 victory in the preliminary game.