EAST CORINTH- Izzy Allen and Abigail Young combined to score 31 points on Friday evening, leading the Central Red Devils to a 45-34 Class C North girls basketball win over the Stearns Minutemen at Central High School.
The defenses of both teams dominated the first 11 or so minutes of action. Two free throws from Stearns forward Kelly Farber was the only scoring in the first quarter, and the Minutemen led 2-0. Young who finished the evening with a double double got Central on the board with two from the line to start the second, and then hit the first field goal of the game in the paint to make it 4-2 Red Devils. Farber hit the first one from the floor for Stearns with 5:30 left first half, and the teams headed to halftime tied 12-12 with neither holding more than a two point lead.
The visiting Minutemen regained the lead on a steal and layup by Gracyn Sanders to begin the third quarter, but a three-pointer by Allen gave the Red Devils the lead for good 15-14. Central (11-3) used runs of 7-0 and 10-0 in the period and took a 31-20 advantage to the fourth. The lead would go to 17 in the fourth at 39-22 and was the largest of the night, as the hosts would pick a big victory in the heal points. The teams ended up splitting the season series, with Stearns winning 49-45 in Millinocket back on December 29.
Allen finished with a game high 17 points. She also added five rebounds and three assists in the win. Young had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and was named the Bangor Savings Bank Player of the Game. Rylee Speed also got into double figures with 11 points, with seven rebounds and three steals. Grace Campbell chipped in three points. Stearns was led by Kennedy Emerson who had nine points and seven rebounds. Farber and Makayla Anderson both had eight points and five rebounds, Alisyn Alley had five points, and Sanders added four. The Minutemen fall to 7-2 on the season. Next up Central is scheduled to host Penquis on Monday, while Stearns (weather permitting) is scheduled to play host to PVHS on Saturday.
STRNS (7-2) 2 10 8 14- 34
CENTR (11-3) 0 12 19 14- 45
Rebounds- Central 28, Stearns 19
Free throws- Central 12-20, Stearns 7-10
STEARNS (34)
Emerson 3-0-9, Farber 2-4-8, Anderson 2-3-8, Alley 2-0-5, Sanders 2-0-4, Girsa, Gardner
Three-pointers- Emerson 3, Alley, Anderson
CENTRAL (45)
Allen 7-0-17, Young 4-6-14, Speed 3-5-11, Campbell 1-1-3, Curtis, Grant, Shaw, Pinkham, Whitty
Three-pointers- Allen 3
Central center Abigail Young had 14 points and 13 rebounds on Friday night in helping to lead the Red Devils to a 45-34 schoolgirl basketball win over Stearns. Young was named the Bangor Savings Bank Player of the Game. Photo courtesy of Eastern Maine Sports Media
