BANGOR- The Penobscot Valley High School (PVHS) girls basketball team used a strong second half effort Friday afternoon to knock off the top seeded Fort Fairfield Tigers 47-34 in a Maine Principals’ Association Class C semifinal at the Cross Insurance Center.
Both teams were unable to gather a ton of momentum early on in the contest. The Tigers led by as many as three in the opening quarter and got all eight of their points from senior forwards Kayla Giberson and Teresa Maynard to lead 8-7 after the opening eight minutes of play.
An 11-5 run in the second quarter gave PVHS their largest lead at 18-13 and the Howlers led by three at halftime 18-15.
PVHS senior guard Amy Hallett nailed a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter and the second one gave the Howlers a 28-22 advantage. Fort Fairfield ran off six straight points including a three-pointer from Chelsey Pelkey to tie the game at 28. Mikayla Roy converted two free throws for PVHS and the Howlers took a 30-28 lead into the final period.
In the fourth quarter PVHS turned up the defensive pressure and also got the Tigers into some foul trouble. Giberson fouled out with about five minutes left and Taylor Churchill did the same about a minute later. With two of the offensive weapons out of the game the Tigers had a hard time scoring against the Howlers agressive man to man defense. Samantha Ireland was able to dominate the paint and her eight fourth quarter points and strong rebounding effort allowed the Howlers to pull away. A 12-3 run to start the period gave PVHS a 12 point lead and the Howlers also converted on 9-14 from the foul line to help seal a 13 point win and a date in the regional finals.
The Fort Fairfield Tigers, who finish their season at 18-2, they were led by Pelkey and Giberson who had 9 points a piece. Maynard also chipped in eight points and six rebounds.
PVHS, now 16-4, Ireland finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Amy Hallett had 13 points while Elizabeth McKinnon contributed 10.
PVHS, the number four seed, will now face the third seeded Narragaugas Knights for the Class C Regional title on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.
