Panther girls outlast Warriors to advance to Northern Maine title game

February 18, 2016

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BANGOR- The Panthers from Central Aroostook (CAHS) girls basketball team built a comfortable fourth quarter lead but then had to hold on late against a young and gritty top seeded Southern Aroostook team to claim a 54-49 win in a Maine Principals’ Association Class D Semifinal played Thursday afternoon at the Cross Insurance Center.
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A high scoring first quarter had the Panthers ahead 19-17 after the opening quarter of play. Kelsey Dominique had nine first quarter points while Makaelyn Porter had eight for the Warriors.
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Caitlyn Harris and Ashlee Harris combined to score eight of the 10 second quarter points for the Panthers as they built a 29-25 halftime lead. The Panthers led by as many as eight in the first half of play.
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Southern Aroostook, who has a roster that consists of four eighth graders and four freshman charged out of the second half locker room and a 7-0 surge had the Warriors on top 32-29. But the Panthers battled back into the lead with a 13-4 run of their own to end the quarter to take a 42-36 lead into the final period.
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Karli Levesque and Dominique both had early fourth quarter baskets, Molly Anthony added two from the line and Caitlyn Harris added a basket to extend the lead to 14, the biggest of the game for CAHS, at 50-36.
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Central Aroostook shot only 6-15 from the line though in the final quarter and also some untimely turnovers and Southern Aroostook shot 8-10 allowing the Warriors to get back within five but time ran short and the Panthers punched their ticket to the regional final Saturday. CAHS shot 10-25 overall from the line in the game while S. Aroostook was 15-18.
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For Southern Aroostook, who finishes up at 14-6, Kylie Vining led the way with 18 points and six rebounds. Porter ended with 10 while Kassidy Mathers had 9 points and 5 rebounds.

For the Panthers of Central Aroostook, now 14-6 as the number four seed, Dominique had 14 points and six rebounds while Ashlee Harris had 10 points and 4 boards. Both Anthony and Karli Levesque had 9 points and 6 rebounds.

Central Aroostook will play Shead Saturday at 9:05 a.m. in the Class D Regional final.