Lady Shires fall in semis

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    The Houlton Lady Shires finally broke the “one and done” streak in Bangor, as they reached the Eastern Maine Class C semifinals last Thursday, but the outcome wasn’t what they had hoped for, as they fell to Stearns, 54-34.
    “We were a bit tight to start the game,” said Houlton coach Shawn Graham. “Nerves played a factor the first three minutes, leading to some frustration as Stearns was hot and we battled from behind.”
    Tori Hanson turned in a double-figure finish of 15 points, while Amanda Fogarty had six points and Marina Cameron  seven points.
Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
REBOUNDS — Houlton’s Makala Folsom fights for a rebound during the Class C semifinals against Stearns.
    The Lady Shires split with Stearns on the season, but in their second matchup in Houlton when the Lady Shires won, standout Sigrid Koizar was out sick.
    “Our game plan was to contain Koizar,” explained Graham. “We tried doubling her, trapping and denying the reverse pass back to her, but really had no answer.”
    Koizar, an exchange student from Austria, is a legitimate all-around ballplayer, who can jack the 3-pointers, drive to the hoop or create openings for her teammates since she draws so much attention.
    In the semifinals, Koizar was the catalyst behind Stearns’ win.
    “She is a phenomenal player who had fantastic game on that particular night,” Graham said.
    Koizar shot 13 for 17 from the floor, with four 3-pointers, while going two for two from the foul line and had almost half of the Stearns team’s rebounds (13). Koizar scored 34 of Stearn’s 54 points.
    The Minutemen jumped to a 6-1 lead behind 6-0 center Taylor Pelkey, as Stearns led 13-6 to start the game. In the second, Koizar ignited her team with a 13-point effort, which included only one 3-pointer. Most of her points came from her heady drives to the hoop or from perimeter shooting. Back-to-back 3-pointers by teammates Emily Wark and Alexandria Mooney extended Stearns’ lead to 33-17 at halftime.
    The Lady Shires never recovered in the second half, as “we seemed to be a step behind all night,” said Graham.
Houlton’s Marina Cameron challenges Sigrid Koizar of Stearns.
    The Lady Shires had a solid play-off run, starting with beating Dexter in the playoffs and then pulling off a huge upset over No. 1 Orono in the quarterfinals.
 “This, year we wanted to take it a step farther, which we did,” said Graham. “Next year, it looks like we may have to set the bar a little higher. I certainly believe our girls basketball program is headed in the right direction. We lose just two seniors [Makala Folsom and Amanda Fogarty].  The future looks really good.”