PCHS earns a trip to Bangor after defeating Sumner in a prelim

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer
    GUILFORD — Very early in the second half of a Feb. 11 Class C East preliminary game, the No. 10 Sumner Memorial High School girls got within a basket of seventh-seeded Piscataquis Community High School at 29-27.

The two-point deficit would be very short lived as the Pirates then outscored the Tigers 24-11 over the rest of the third quarter to help earn a 72-57 victory and resulting berth in the quarterfinals at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
    Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
    PIRATES GET TO PLAY ANOTHER GAME — PCHS senior Delani Bennett puts up a shot over Sumner junior Ali Coehlo, with teammate Haylee Patterson underneath the basket, during a Class C East prelim on Feb. 11 in Guilford. The Pirates scored a season-high 72 points in a 72-57 victory, with Bennett leading all players with 25. With the win, seventh-seeded PCHS advanced to a quarterfinal vs. No. 2 Orono.

    Sumner junior Ali Coehlo made the score 29-27 in the first minute of the second half, but then a free throw by PCHS sophomore Delani Bennett — who would lead all players with 25 points or over a third of her team’s total — and back-to-back baskets by sophomores Jordynne Littlefield and Haylee Patterson quickly extended the Pirate advantage to seven at 34-27.
  Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
    AIR JORDYNNE — PCHS sophomore Jordynne Littlefield takes a steal the other way for two, with junior Alex Speed trailing, in the team’s 72-57 win over Sumner. 

    Several minutes later a 3-pointer by Tiger junior Kiandra Barnes made the score 36-32 to give her team a two-possession deficit. When PCHS got the ball next junior Alex Speed was fouled in the act of shooting, and she made a free throw to up the advantage to five points.
    The Pirate defense then made a stop and at the other end of the court and soon after Bennett got the ball in the low post. Her shot attempt was good as the defender made contact to give Bennett a trip to the free throw line. She made Sumner pay for the transgression by sinking the shot to complete the 3-point play for a 43-34 lead.
   Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
    PICK APART THE DEFENSE — Pirate junior Grace Riitano sets a screen on Sumner sophomore Taya Moore for classmate Alex Speed during the first half of the Class C East preliminary contest.

    Following a Tiger basket, Bennett again was fouled on a made shot and she once again converted the free throw try. Bennett ended up tallying nine of her 25 points in the third quarter, on three shots from the floor and a trio of foul shots.
    Later in the quarter PCHS reached the bonus, while having only committed one foul at the same point in the game. The automatic free throw attempts resulted in three Pirate points — on shots by Speed and Patterson — to extend the lead to 50-36. Speed would later launch a 3-pointer just before the buzzer that was good to put her team ahead 53-38 after three quarters of play.
    Over the final eight minutes Sumner was not able to cut into the deficit as both teams had 19 points and PCHS won by 15 points at 72-57. Early in the fourth the Pirates surpassed the team’s previous season-high of 56 points, scored at Bangor Christian in December.
    PCHS improved to 11-8 with the win, and eliminated 7-12 Sumner from the postseason. The Pirates, who reached the quarterfinals a year ago, were scheduled to play No. 2 Orono High School on the late morning of Wednesday, Feb. 19. The Red Riots came in at 17-1, and did not face PCHS in the regular season.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Class C East prelim
No. 7 PCHS 72,
No. 10 Sumner 57
SUM     6   19  13      19  — 57
PCHS    14    15    24      9  — 72
    PCHS: Bennett 25, Patterson 14, Speed 12, Littlefield 10, Dow 7 and Deane 4.
    Sumner: Turner 19, West  13, Barnes 10, Coehlo 5, Davis 4, Haley 4 and Young 2.
    Records: PCHS 11-8, Sumner 7-12.