The Hermon Hawks and Presque Isle Wildcats clashed in a Class B girls quarterfinal matchup in Bangor on Saturday night, and it was the Wildcats who emerged from the 48-37 contest.
It was a hard-nosed, physical game and Presque Isle head coach Krystal Flewelling thought there were nerves all around as the teams took the tournament floor at the Cross Insurance Center for the first time this postseason.
“I think just being here, it’s whoever settles into the game the quickest,” said the Presque Isle coach, who noted that her team is very familiar with Hermon after two matchups during the regular season. “I think the key is, we know that they’re big, they’re strong, and they work extremely hard. You just have to stay composed down the stretch and kind of match their physicality.”
Junior Emily Collins led the No. 4 Wildcats in scoring with 13 points, and senior Georganna Curtis was close behind with 10. Hermon senior center Rebecca Balmas led all scorers with 18 points and also had a game-high 9 rebounds.
The No. 5 Hawks finish the season at 10-9. Presque Isle is now 14-5 on the year.
Flewelling said Collins has had “a phenomenal season” for Presque Isle.
“You wouldn’t believe last year, she barely got any minutes for us,” the coach said. “She comes in and every time she shoots it, she believes it’s going in, and so don’t we at this point.”
The Presque Isle coach said her main goals were to get her offense under control, stay composed and continue what they’ve been doing for the last month leading into the tournament.
