The Deer Isle-Stonington High School girls basketball team bench cheers on the players on the court during a game earlier this season. Photo by Monique Labbe
BANGOR – The Deer Isle-Stonington High School girls basketball team rallied to a 43-40 quarterfinal win over the Schenck Wolverines at the Cross Insurance Center on February 16.
The Mariners outscored the Wolverines 17-13 in the third quarter to secure the victory, including knocking down four pivotal free throws in the final seconds of the game.
Junior Kaylee Morey got the scoring going for the Mariners with a three pointer, but Schenck equalized with a three of their own. Deer Isle-Stonington extended the lead to four, its biggest of the half, but the Wolverines closed the gap to one at the end of the first quarter.
The Mariner offense struggled in the second quarter, as did the offense from Schenck, as each team only put up eight and nine points, respectively, and at the end of the half, the score was all tied up at 17-17.
Junior Rylee Eaton scored the opening points of the second half to give her team a 19-17 lead, but Schenck answered immediately before knocking down a three to take a 22-19 lead over the Mariners. Senior Brienna Limeburner hit a layup to cut the lead to one, but the Wolverines answered again to extend the lead with three minutes to go in the third quarter. The Wolverines rallied to extend the lead to five, their largest of the game, but with under a minute to go, senior Brittany Gray drilled a three from the top of the key to bring her team within one going into the fourth quarter.
Schenck took its second five-point lead of the game with just under four minutes to play in the final quarter, but the Mariner offense took over from there, outscoring the Wolverines 12-6 in the final minutes. Schenck knocked down a three with a second left on the clock to cut a 41-37 lead to one, but it was too little, too late, as the Mariners sealed the victory with two final free throws.
Deer Isle-Stonington was led by Eaton, who recorded 15 points on the night, 10 of which came in the second half. Gray registered nine points, while senior Katie Hutchinson contributed eight points to the win.
The Mariners are scheduled to take on Katahdin on Thursday, February 20, at 2 p.m. in the Class D North semifinal contest.