By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
Monday in Ashland, the Greater Houlton Christian Academy girls picked up their first win, 47-36, over Ashland.
Rylee Warman led GHCA with 15 points, while Colby Walker posted nine points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. Eighth-grader Kristen Brewer added eight, along with Jennah Carver’s seven; Makayla Watson’s six and Caitlin Miles’ basket. The GHCA girls trailed by as many as nine points in the second quarter before outscoring Ashland, 38-18, from that point to take the win.
The Lady Eagles trailed 25-21 at halftime, but outscored Ashland, 13-3, holding the Hornets scoreless for about six minutes to pull ahead 34-28.
Caitlin Paradis scored 12 for Ashland, while Marissa Chasse and Rachel Gillis each tallied 10 points.
In the second game of the night Monday in Ashland, the Hornets wasted no time, as they overtook the GHCA Eagles on their home court Monday, 64-21.
The Hornets opened the game with a 20-2 lead and held a 36-8 halftime cushion. They continued to roll in the second half, overpowering the Eagles with a balanced attack.
Cody Blair scored 17 points and Michael Cook added 16 points to pace the Hornets, while Mark Chasse added 11 points.
Aaron Holmes led GHCA with 11 points. Josh Winslow and Dana Brown each added four points.
The high school basketball season opened up last Friday night with some local teams taking to the hardwood.
In Stacyville, the Katahdin Cougars hosted Hodgdon in a closely contested game.
After the first quarter, the game was knotted at 11 before Hodgdon took a one-point lead, 26-25, into halftime. After the third, Hodgdon maintained their one-point advantage, 44-43 and in the decisive final period, Hodgdon outscored Katahdin 25-10 behind Chris Hudson’s 13-point effort.
Hudson finished the game with a game-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Hawks. Tyler Sherman knocked down four 3-pointers and Deyrell Vargas added 13 points and six assists.
Wyatt Morse keyed Katahdin’s offense with 19 points, five rebounds and three steals. Nick Lane and Gavin Russell each scored 10 points.
In Mars Hill, Coach Bill McAvoy’s Warriors came away with a convincing, 59-39, win over Central Aroostook.
Cameron Landry scored 19 points and freshman Jackson Mathers netted 17 more to ignite the Southern Aroostook offense. Freshman Nolan Altvater added six points, while Trent Cullinan had five more.
For the Panthers, Spencer Garrison had 10 points.
In Washburn, the favored Class D Lady Beavers routed Hodgdon, 80-11.
Grace Braley netted 16 points, while Nicole Olson and Natalie Doody scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Lauren Howell had six points for the Hawks, who were shell-shocked in the opening frame when Washburn went ahead 25-1 and were well in front at halftime, 44-5. The Lady Hawks were held scoreless in the third.
Saturday night, the Houlton boys picking up their opening win on the road in Calais, 61-53 behind Kyle Bouchard’s 23-point effort and Nick Guiod’s 21 points.
The East Grand boys didn’t have the same luck as they dropped their home opener to Easton, 69-29.
The Bears took an opening lead of 23-7 and never stopped, as they continued to pour in the points. Hunter Turner scored a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Logan Halvorson chipped in with 12 points and Drew Sotomayor added 11.
For East Grand, Logan Crone knocked down a dozen points.
In girls’ action, the Houlton Lady Shires broke open a close game, 20-16 at halftime, with a 19-3 third-quarter run to take a 20-point lead over visiting Washington Academy for a 44-33 win.
“I thought we played well defensively for most of the game. We picked up the defensive pressure and got really physical with them in the third quarter,” said Houlton coach Shawn Graham. “Washington Academy struggled against the half-court trap. I felt this was the difference in the game.”
However, the Raiders sparked in the final quarter outscoring Houlton, 14-5.
“In the fourth after being up 39-19, we got a bit complacent and allowed them to make a bit of a run,” Graham said. “I’d like to see us work on putting teams away when the opportunity presents itself.”
The Lady Shires got off to a slower start than expected and in the final period, they took quicker shots than needed.
“We should have ran our offense while taking a minute or two off the clock each possession,” explained Graham. “It’s early, but an area that we will have to work on. Also, we will have to be better at the foul line. We were just 10 of 24 for the game.”
The Houlton girls were led offensively by the sophomore tandem of Natalie Hill and Katie Condon, with 18 and 14 points respectively. Samantha Keegan (six points) brought down 10 rebounds, while Condon grabbed eight and Jessy Dickison displayed a very intense defensive effort.
Logan Huckins paced the Raiders with 10 points, while Taylor Cushing and Tamara Kabuye had seven points apiece.
“Overall it was a good win for us and should prove to be fairly pointworthy,” added Graham.
The Southern Aroostook girls under new head coach Cliff Urquhart picked up their opening win on the road, 54-40, over Central Aroostook of Mars Hill.
Sable Altvater had a monstrous game with 27 points to lead all scorers. Kennedi Smith added seven points, while Jess Tucker had six and Chloe Raymond, five more. Cassidy Lyons and Mataya Hartin each had four and Lilley Leavitt added a point.
For Mars Hill, Marissa Anthony dropped in 14, while Karli Levesque chipped in with 12 and Molly Anthony 11 more.
In their home season opener on Saturday in Danforth, the East Grand girls came back to edge Easton, 37-36.
The Bears led throughout the first half of the game, 9-2 and 17-16 before East Grand knotted the game at 25-all in the third.
Sarah Stoddard scored 16 points, while Chelsea Winiarski chipped in with eight more for the winners.
For Easton, Kate Ward and Cassandra Buck scored 10 and nine points respectively.
