BANGOR, Maine — More than a generation of tournament frustration was put to bed by the Piscataquis Community High School girls basketball team Tuesday morning.
The third-ranked Pirates, which hadn’t advanced past the quarterfinals since 1987, emphatically punched their ticket to Friday’s Class C semifinals with a 52-31 triumph over No. 11 Washington Academy of East Machias at the Cross Insurance Center.
Coach Brian Gaw’s club wasted no time in dashing the Raiders’ bid for their second upset in a week, cruising to a 12-3 lead after the first quarter en route to a semifinal date with No. 2 Houlton, which dispatched No. 7 Central of Corinth 51-37 in the second game of Tuesday’s quarterfinal twinbill.
Washington Academy had upended No. 6 Orono in the preliminary round to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Pirates (15-4) only trailed for the first two minutes of the contest, as Darling’s/BDN Most Valuable Player Jordynne Littlefield’s 12-point first half sparked Piscataquis to a 10-point halftime lead.
“Jordynne shot the ball well today,” Gaw said. “She’s struggled at times this year, but stepped up big when it’s counted the most.”
Littlefield connected for a game-high 18 points, while backcourt mate Alex Speed registered 13 points and 6-foot-3 center Denali Bennett had 10.
The quickness of Piscataquis’ guards and a 1-2-2 halfcourt defense collaborated to slow down the Raiders’ fast break game. Piscataquis also held Washington Academy to 13-for-32 shooting.
“They want to go up and down the court 80-85 times a game, and we want to go [up and down] 50 times a game,” Gaw said.
The Pirates shifted into cruise control in the second half, increasing the lead to 21 by the end of the third quarter.
Caitlyn Lyons’ 13-point effort led Washington Academy, which finishes the season 7-13
In the second game, Central managed to hold Houlton in check for three quarters thanks to a sound defensive effort, but the Shiretowners had too much defense of their own and too much Kolleen Bouchard in the fourth quarter.
The Houlton freshman, the Darling’s/BDN MVP, scored 11 of her game-high 20 points over the final eight minutes to help coach Shawn Graham’s club gradually pull away from a determined Red Devils team.
The Shires, who outscored Central 20-7 in the final period, were bolstered at the end of the third by a buzzer-beating layup by Makala Watson on an inbounds play, giving Houlton the lead for good.
Watson had come on after Katie Condon had picked up her fourth foul earlier in the period.
“We were just looking for a lob for Watson, and we were able to get it,” said Graham, whose club improves to 17-2.
Central (13-7) was able to slow the tempo for much of the contest, but the quicker Shires were able to gradually wear the Red Devils down, forcing Central into mistakes that led to transition buckets for Houlton.
“I thought [Central coach] Diane [Rollins] had a great gameplan,” Graham said. “She tried to slow us down, and she did for three quarters.”
Rollins, whose club has seven freshmen, thought her Red Devils started forcing passes once Houlton was able to seize control.
“I thought that we weren’t being patient,” she said, “and we made some bad choices with the ball.
“I thought my kids played well. We’re young, we’re very young,” she added.
Neither team led by more than five until the Shires scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to establish control.
“Once we were able to get a 4-5 point lead, I thought that was a momentum builder,” Graham said.
He also felt Bouchard, a freshman, showed phenomenal poise after picking up her third foul in the third quarter.
“I gambled a little bit with Kolleen,” he said. “She’s a fantastic player, she’s got a good right hand, left hand, inside game, outside game and defends very well.”
Houlton’s defensive pressure late prevented Central senior Bri Skolfield from having any easy looks at the basket
Condon was the other Houlton player in double figures with 11 points, while Skolfield paced Central with 13 points. Sydney Allen contributed nine more for the Red Devils.
