BANGOR- The Narraguagus Knighrs girls basketball team scored the first 17 points of the second half, and rolled to a 45-18 win over Penobscot Valley High School (PVHS) in the class C Northern Maine Championship game played Saturday night at the Cross Insurance Center.
It is the first regional title for Narraguagus. They reached the regional final in 1992, but lost to Schenck. Knights coach Heather Thompson was part of that Knights team.
“I was on the team in 92 that lost in the Eastern Maine final,”Thompson said. “This is 10 times better to be a coach and be a part of seeing all these guys so excited. It is so exciting.”
The Knights held a 15-5 lead after the first quarter. They built the lead to 22-9, before PVHS cut the deficit to 24-14 at halftime.
The Howlers scored all 13 points of the third quarter, and the first four of the fourth quarter to take a commanding 41-14 lead.
The Knights were the highest scoring team in class C during the regular season. They showed they can also win with defense. In a semifinal win over Dexter, Narraguagus only allowed 24 points and forced 35 turnovers. Against the Howlers, they only allowed 18 points for the game, four in the second half.
“Our defense worked against Dexter yesterday, so we came in with the same game plan, as far as pressuring the ball,”Thompson said. “They broke it a little bit easier then Dexter so we had to pull back. That is where a lot of our offense comes from is those steals.”
Sophomore guard Madison Leighton added, “we take a lot of pride in our defense. We wanted to focus on that in the last two games, because we practice it so much. It was a key to us winning these last two games.”
Narraguagus lost in the quarterfinals each of the last three seasons. Kelli Kennedy wanted to help make sure that wasn’t going to happen again in her senior season.
“The last three years we lost in the quarterfinals and last year we were a number one seed,”Kennedy said. We knew this year, we didn’t want that to happen. We put our focus in right from the first practice.”
Narraguagus (18-2) will take on Boothbay for the state title on Saturday, February 27th at 7:05 p.m. at the Augusts Civic Center. If the regional final was indication, Harrington may be empty next Saturday night.
“It feels amazing to have the support of the community and our parents and our coaches,”Leighton said. “It feels amazing.”
Kennedy added, “It feels great, I am still in shock, I am proud of all the hard work we put into this season.”
Kennedy led the Knights with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. Kayla Toppin added nine points, five rebounds, and two steals. Leighton recorded six points, four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Cassidy Osgood contributed six points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Emily Reynolds and Kylee Joyce scored four points each, while Hannah Alley put in two points.
Sami Ireland led the Howlers with 10 points, seven rebounds,three steals, and two blocks. Elizabeth McKinnon and Amy Hallett scored three points each, while Judith Davis had two. Narraguagus outrebounded the Howlers 36-17. PVHS finishes the season with a 16-5 record.
Kennedy- we try and bring intensity to every game and we knew it would be super important on this floor.
We talked about picking up our defense,
It feels great, I am still in shock, I am proud of all the hard work we put into this season..
thes last two years we lost in the quarterfinals the last three years and last year we were a number one seed. We knew this year, we didn’t want that to happen. We put our focus in right from the first practice.
Thompson- our defense worked against Dexter yesterday so we came in with the same game plan, as far as pressuring the ball. They broke it a little bit easier then Dexter so we had to pull back.
That is where a lot of our offense comes from is those steals.
“I was on the team in 92 that lost in the Eastern Maine final,”Thompson said. “This is 10 times better to be a coach and be a part of seeing all these guys so excited. It is so exciting.”
The Knights held a 15-5 lead after the first quarter. They built the lead to 22-9, before PVHS cut the deficit to 24-14 at halftime.
The Howlers scored all 13 points of the third quarter and the first four of the fourth quarter to take a commanding 41-14 lead.
Leighton
we take a lot of pride in our defense. We wanted to focus on that in the last two games, because we practice it so much. It was a key to us winning these last two games.
it feels amazing to have the support of the community and our parents and our coaches. It feels amazing,
