BANGOR- The John Bapst girls basketball team used a big third quarter run to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, and would hang on for a 47-43 Class B Big East win over the Presque Isle Wildcats at the Cross Insurance Center on Monday evening.
Both teams held a lead in a back and forth first quarter, with John Bapst holding an 11-8 edge after the first eight minutes. The Wildcats would charge back in front in the second. With the score even 13-13, a three point play by Rossalyn Buck gave PI a lead they would take into the break. The guests would finish the first half on a 10-2 run and led 23-15 at halftime. Gan Curtis scored the first bucket of the third quarter to give Presque Isle their biggest advantage of the night at 25-15. The Crusaders though would score 11 points in a row started by a three-pointer by Jayden Schoppee, and then finished with a basket from Claire Gaetani for a 26-25 lead. The Wildcats responded with a three-pointer from Anna Jandreau to take their final lead, but baskets from Lilly Higgins and Gaetani put Bapst back in front for good 30-28. They would lead by as many as six as they outscored PI 19-8 in the period, and were on top 34-31 headed to the fourth. Presque Isle would get within two points three times in the last 1:56, but two free throws by Gaetani with 2.9 seconds left would ice the first victory of the season for John Bapst (1-2).
Higgins would lead the way in the win for John Bapst with 18 points. Gaetani had 15 points and seven rebounds. Kaylee Horr and Schoppee added seven and five points respectively off the bench. The Crusaders had 20 rebounds and shot 12-18 from the foul line. Jandreau had 16 points (4 three-pointers), four rebounds, and three steals in the loss for Presque Isle (1-2). Curtis had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Karlyn Gilmour finished with eight points and seven rebounds. The Wildcats had 32 rebounds and shot 9-17 from the line. John Bapst is in action again on Tuesday at home against Houlton, while Presque Isle visits Ellsworth on Thursday.
PI (1-2) 8 15 8 12- 43
JB (1-2) 11 4 19 13- 47
Recap and photos are courtesy of Chris Lessner
