PVHS defeats Mattanawcook in exciting season closer
The Penobscot Valley Howlers beat the Mattanawcook Academy Lynxes this Wednesday evening.
The top six teams in girls Class C North are neck and neck as the season comes to an end, foreshadowing an exciting playoff series.
PVHS is in fourth place with a record of 15-2. The Howlers lost to second place Dexter twice, both of those games were close in score. Besides those losses this team has been blowing their opponents out of the water. The Howlers rarely score below 70 points and have the ability to hold the other team below 30 points.
Mattanawcook Academy, with a record of 14-2, currently occupy the third place slot. The Lynxes also lost to Dexter in a close battle last month. Their other loss was to the Howlers by 11 points early into the season. This team doesn’t typically score at the extent that PVHS does, but hopefully their defense will fend off the Howlers this time.
The Lynxes had a powerful beginning to the first quarter. Sophomore forward, Addison Cyr, blocked a layup ten seconds in, causing the student sections to erupt. But just a minute later the Howlers scored the first basket of the game. Ellie Austin, a Junior guard, hit a three from the corner for a 3-0 advantage.
A timeout was called on the court and PVHS came out of it in a full court zone press that shook Mattanawcook. With five minutes left in the first, Lila Cummings, a Sophomore forward, was fouled on a jump shot in the key. She was awarded with two free throws, however, the Lynxes fan section was overbearing and threw her shots way off the mark.
The teams traded baskets for about two minutes until the Howlers lost strength in holding back the Lynxes wall of forwards, leading to several second chance shots. But, PVHS was able to take the lead 11-7 going into the second quarter.
Mattanawcook gained a lot of fouls throughout the game, causing them to put Senior guard Lauren House on the bench. Though, when she reentered in the second quarter their defensive aggressiveness sky rocketed.
Down by eight, Lily Wotton, a Junior forward for the Lynxes hit a baseline jumper a minute into the second, making the score 15-9. This was the last made shot for the next six minutes of the game. The Howler’s continued to frazzle their opponents with their high corner traps which caused a lot of turnovers and no scoring.
Finally, the scoring drought was remedied by Cyr cashing in two free throws with thirty seconds left in the half. PVHS remained ahead 15-11.
Mattanawcook continued to stay in foul trouble at the hands of PVHS’s defense, the Howler’s were also exceeding on offense. Cummings made a full court pass to Sophomore guard, Rylee Moulton for a layup seconds into the third.
The Lynxes were able to make a comeback this quarter at the hands of Cyr. With five minutes left in the quarter she nailed two free throws to make the score 17-15, advantage PVHS. Then at the three minute mark Megan House, a Sophomore guard, slung the ball to Senior forward Kaitlyn Thornton for the deuce to tie the game.
Tied with two minutes to go in the third, Austin decided to turn on the jets. She stole the ball, made a few layups, and got her team back up on the scoreboard. The Howlers led going into the final quarter 26-20.
Down by six points, Mattanawcook Senior guard, Navenah DeLaCruz, drained a three to make the score 28-25. PVHS started to hold the ball on offense, daring their opponents to move up on them.
With a minute and thirty left the Howlers had a 31-25 lead. The Lynxes worked hard to regain the ball, even opening up another three for DeLaCruz to get within five. Cyr worked tremendously getting offensive rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to get the revenge they wanted. PVHS took the win, once again, with a score of 34-29.
