C North girls semifinal recap
PVHS v Fort Kent
The 3rd place Penobscot Valley Howlers defeated the 2nd place Fort Kent Warriors 55-12 in a Class C semifinal matchup on Thursday evening.
Both of these teams are similar in play; they rely on a strong post player to clean up the rebounds and make strong moves while their guards wait on the outside for wide-open threes. This matchup could purely come down to whose shots are falling.
The Howlers have several players to keep an eye on. Junior guard Ellie Austin, Freshman guard Brooklynn Raymond and Lila Cummings, a Sophomore forward, are just a few of them. Raymond drains her shots consistently, while Austin provides a steady income of passes from the point position.
Fort Kent focuses on their zone defense as the core of their game, permitting them to work faster on offense. Junior forward Lily Oliver is the top producer for this team with her confident post moves and short-jumpers.
The Warriors came out in their signature zone defense, but the howlers had something up their sleeve too. On the first Fort Kent end-line out of bounds PVHS set up in a 1-3-1 full-court press, surprising their opponents. The Howlers would get many fast-break baskets from this for the rest of the match.
Austin made the first basket of the game two minutes in, but Lily Werntgen, a Junior guard, hit a triple seconds later making the score 3-2 advantage Fort Kent. But, it wasn’t long until PVHS’s defense aided their scoring. With three minutes left in the first, Austin picked the ball and threw it to Rylee Moulton, a Sophomore guard for a fast-break two, propelling the Howlers ahead 16-3.
The Warriors had very few chances to score in the second quarter amidst the Howler’s defense. Even when they had those opportunities, they didn’t capitalize on them. Oliver stole the ball a minute into the quarter. She was fouled by Austin on her full-court layup, but only hit one of her free throws making the score 18-6.
Cummings gave 100% effort underneath the basket grabbing every offensive rebound she came near, oftentimes gathering her own misses for easy baskets. With five minutes left in the first half Moulton hit a triple advancing the Howler’s lead 22-6. Then, she stole the ball directly after, securing the next possession for her team. Moulton made another jumper with a minute left sending PVHS ahead with five-times their opponents score at half, 30-6.
Fort Kent came out of half-time inspired by their opponents' press. Oliver had a steal a minute in for an easy layup. Similarly, Ashlyn St.Cyr stole the ball right under her basket, scoring two for the Howlers.
With two minutes left in the third quarter Mia Neal, a Senior center, was awarded two free throws. She made the first, advancing PVHS’s lead 39-8. Neal missed her second free throw, but Austin secured the rebound, firing it to Cummings for two.
Fort Kent finally reached double digits in the third off of Senior guard Mia Voisine’s layup. Raymond drilled her second deep three of the game with thirty seconds left in the half, adding to the Howler’s lead 46-12.
PVHS continued to push the ball up the court on their steals. Two minutes into the final quarter Austin made a full-court outlet pass to St.Cyr who finished for two. Voisine scored another layup for Fort Kent, however it wasn’t enough to stop their aggressive press. PVHS took the dub 55-12.
Mattanawcook v Dexter
The 1st place Dexter Tigers defeated the 4th place Mattanawcook Lynxes 42-27.
These teams have quite the history this season. On December 27th the Tigers lost to the Lynxes by one point. The score of that game was 39-38, which is uncharacteristic for both team’s highly-abundant offenses. Then, on January 22nd, Dexter took the win at home by five points.
This matchup will be a classic battle of the bigs with Senior forward Mazie Peach on the inside for Dexter and Sophomore forward Addison Cyr for Mattanawcook. These teams have similar play by working it in and out of the post and crashing the board for offensive rebounds. Impressively, Peach and Cyr also serve as shot blockers and rebounders for their teams.
Both teams have tremendous defense, but with their own twist. The Lynxes use a trapping-zone defense where they wait for the ball to breach the halfcourt line, then jump on the ball, spooking their opponents. Whereas the Tigers formation is more fluid. Dexter will attack the ball at any time and any place on the court to regain possession, denying their opponents of setting up a formed defense.
Dexter had a 3-0 lead two minutes into the first quarter. Peach received the ball on the low post, making a drop step she added two to the Tiger’s score. Mattanawcook had a tough time adjusting to their opponent’s hectic defense, costing them quite a few turnovers. Once they got in their flow their plays started to connect.
Megan House, a Sophomore guard, fed the ball to Cyr cutting into the paint. She gathered herself and took a hook-shot, but was fouled. Cyr cashed both shots for the Lynxes first points of the game at the five minute mark.
With four minutes left in the first Mattanawcook turned up their defensive-intensity, holding Dexter for a minute and a half on offense without scoring. However, once the ball got in Junior guard Abilene Corson’s hands, she drained a triple for the Tigers. Dexter led 11-7 going into the second quarter.
Peach made another early layup underneath taking Dexter’s lead 15-7. Mattanawcook was still struggling to get in an offensive-mindset as their opponent’s made it hard to get it past their hands.
At the two minute mark Lauren House, a Senior guard, stuck a three-pointer making the score 20-10. Mattanawcook regained the ball on a steal in the next possession, but couldn’t convert. For offense, the Lynxes focused on ball screens, even hitting Cyr on her pick and rolls. Unfortunately, Mattanawcook’s shots weren’t falling. So, Dexter stayed ahead 20-10 at halftime.
The Tiger’s proceeded to draw foul calls on the Lynxes, Cyr totaled three in the third quarter. Hannah Dean, a Senior forward, scored a layup playing through the contact, and hit the free throw two minutes into the second half.
After putting up three extra shots from her o-board rebounds, Cyr drew the foul on Peach, draining both free throws cutting Mattanawcook’s deficit 25-14. Cyr hit a few more free throws in the third, trying to get her team back in the game. Though, the Tiger’s still led 31-17.
Dexter closed out the rest of the game behind Corson, Peach and Dean, especially, as the high scorer with 18 points, winning 42-27.
PREVIEW: PVHS v Dexter
Penobscot Valley will face Dexter in the Class C regional finals on Saturday, February 24th at 6:00 p.m. in Bangor.
PVHS frazzles their opponents with their full-court press. They trap the ball in the corners making it difficult to search for open teammates and score many points on their fast-breaks from steals. Dexter also runs a trapping-type defense to get the ball in their hands quickly.
The Howler’s offense surrounds Austin. She carries the ball up the court, either passing it to her teammates or catching her defender by surprise taking quick pull-up’s. Cummings sits down by the block waiting for a feed or offensive rebounds to score, while Raymond fades to the arch for deep threes.
The Tiger’s offense is led by Corson. She drives aggressively at the defense, drawing those defenders away from her teammates and whips the ball to them. She also has a great shot when it’s needed. Peach holds down the paint grabbing offensive and defensive rebounds, while Dean capitalizes off of Peach’s presence, scoring quick shots on the block.
