BANGOR, Maine — Kolleen Bouchard was understandably a tad antsy when she picked up her third foul early in the third quarter of Saturday night’s Class C state championship game and was relegated to the bench.
But there was no look of panic on the Houlton freshman’s face, and it was a classmate that helped pave the way to the Shiretowners’ first state championship in a generation.
Aspen Flewelling scored eight of her nine points during the third quarter, and the Shiretowners held Maranacook without a field goal over the final minute and a half as Houlton pulled away for a 59-51 victory over the Black Bears at the Cross Insurance Center and the program’s first state championship since a Class B title in 1991.
“I can’t describe it, it’s a great feeling,” said Darling’s/BDN MVP Bouchard, who finished with a team-high 18 points for coach Shawn Graham’s club, which finished 20-2.
Maranacook, making the first state championship appearance in program history, finished 18-4.
The Black Bears gave the Shiretowners fits early with their full-court press, harassing Houlton into 11 first-quarter turnovers but the Shires hung tough, trailing by only four after the first eight minutes.
“I think the girls came out a little bit tight but once we settled in we were able to get some easy transition baskets,” said Graham, whose team never trailed after Bouchard scored in the lane early in the second half.
“They’ve got that refuse to lose attitude,” said Graham, whose club has no seniors.
Graham certainly gambled by putting Bouchard on the bench when foul trouble became an issue, but Flewelling and Katie Condon combined for 12 of Houlton’s 16 third-quarter points, including two perimeter shots from Flewelling.
“Aspen has been one of our better perimeter shooters all year long,” Graham said. “We rolled the dice a little bit with Kolleen, we felt as long as we could maintain the lead we’d keep her on the bench.”
Graham’s gamble paid dividends, and back to back hoops by Rylee Warman early in the fourth quarter stretched Houlton’s lead to seven.
“We’ve been playing together forever and we know each other’s strengths,” Bouchard said. “I was begging coach to let me back in but we had Aspen Flewelling step up big.”
“I was just so excited, it was so awesome,” Flewelling said.
Flewelling, Warman, Condon and Natalie Hill all supplied scoring depth for the Shires, with Hill, Warman and Condon each finishing with 10 points and Flewelling nine.
Maranacook kept battling thanks to the outstanding shooting of Christine Miller, who buried a state championship game-record five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 31 points, and her perimeter shot from well beyond the college line pulled the Black Bears within three with 1:45 to go in regulation.
But Miller fouled out on Houlton’s next possession, and the Black Bears would not score from the field the rest of the way as the Shires put the game away at the foul line.
“When one falls we pick each other up… I can only ask for these kids to play their hearts out which I felt they did,” Maranacook coach Jeanne Paradis said.
For Bouchard, who watched as older brother Kyle brought a gold ball back to Houlton last winter, the feeling was indescribable.
“I was more nervous for his I think because I couldn’t control what was going on,” she said.
Catherine Sanborn contributed 10 points for Maranacook.
