Dexter girls and boys combine to sweep Penquis
DEXTER — Both home teams emerged victorious as Dexter Regional High School hosted regional rival Penquis Valley High School in a girls/boys doubleheader on the court on Thursday, Jan. 18. The Tiger girls won 53-46 and the Dexter boys earned a 59-30 victory.
The girls played first and Dexter built a 29-10 advantage at the half. Penquis would get back into the game with a 29-10 scoring advantage in the third quarter to tie the game at 39 points apiece.
Early in the fourth quarter Dexter freshman Peyton Grant sank a jump shot to give her team the lead again, at 41-39. Tiger senior Kaitlyn Webber followed with a field goal from the post to up the advantage to multiple possessions at 43-39.
Penquis cut the deficit to two again on a jumper from junior Megan Valvo but after the score was 43-41 the Patriots would not get within two points again. Consecutive baskets from freshman Cheyenne Beem put Dexter ahead by six and senior Rebecca Batron converted a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 49-41.
Freshman Avery Herrick led Dexter with 12 points, 11 coming in the opening half. Junior Danielle Cummings was next on the scoring sheet with 11 points, all in the second and third quarters.
Penquis sophomore Sydney Fowles scored a game-high 16 points, picking up 14 of these in the second half and 10 in the third quarter to lead her team’s 29-10 run. Junior Camryn Rolfe reached double figures with 12 points, scoring eight in the third, and Valvo added 11 points — nine in the second half.
The victory was the seventh in a row for Dexter, which improved to 10-1. The winning streak includes a 35-19 victory in Milo eight days prior.
Penquis fell to 6-6 with the defeat.
In the boys’ contest, Dexter broke open a 10-6 lead after the first quarter with a 23-7 run in quarter No. 2 to help earn a 59-30 victory.
Seven Tigers got in on the scoring in the second quarter, paced by freshman Brett Kusnierz. Kusnierz hit a pair of shots from the floor and three foul shots for seven of his 16 points. Senior Jacob Bickford sank four free throws in the second quarter for four of his 16 points, matching Kusnierz for the game-high.
Sophomore Trever Richards joined his two teammates in double figures, as Richards picked up a total of 13 points.
Freshman Zak Mills led Penquis at eight points, which included two 3-pointers. Junior Jeremey Martin was close behind with seven points of his own, coming on a four free throws and a shot from behind the 3-point line.
The Tigers improved to 8-2 and won for the fourth time in the team’s last five games. One of these four victories was a 45-21 win at Penquis on Jan. 10.
The Patriots fell to 0-10 after the trip south to Dexter.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Dexter 53,
Penquis 46
PEN 6 4 29 7 | 46
DEX 14 15 10 14 | 53
Penquis: Fowles 16,
Rolfe 12, Valvo 11, K.
Bolstridge 4, Trafton 2,
L. Bolstridge 1.
Dexter: Av. Herrick 12,
Cummings 11, Batron
9, Grant 9, Webber 6,
Beem 4, Deering 2.
Records: Pen 6-6,
Dex 10-1.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Dexter 59,
Penquis 30
PEN 6 7 6 11 | 30
DEX 10 23 11 15 | 59
Penquis: Mills 8, Martin
7, Zambrano 4, Tucker 3,
Bailey 2, Baker 2, Carmack
2, Witham 2.
Dexter: Bickford 16,
Kusnierz 16, T. Richards
13, Paige 4, N. Richards
4, Fitzgerald 2, Pillsbury
2, Carlow 1, M. Richards 1.
Records: Pen 0-10,
Dex 8-2.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
TWIN BILL — Dexter freshman Avery Herrick goes up for two as Penquis junior Katelyn Bolstridge looks on during a Jan. 18 game in Dexter. Herrick led the Tigers with 12 points as the team won 53-46 to improve to 10-1 on the season. The boys teams from the two schools played right after, and Dexter won this game 59-30 as the Tiger boys improved to 8-2 in 2017-18.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
WHOSE POSSESSION IS IT ANYWAY? — Penquis freshman Zak Mills and Dexter sophomore Nathan Richards both dive for a loose ball during the Jan. 18 contest in Dexter. Mills would lead the Patriots in scoring with eight points.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
STEAL ON THE IN-BOUNDS — Freshman Brett Kusnierz swipes the Penquis in-bounds pass intended for Patriot junior Jeremy Martin. Kusnierz would tie for the game-high with 16 points with teammate senior Jacob Bickford.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
BEST TO NOT PASS INSIDE — Senior Kaitlyn Webber gets ready to pass around the perimeter to teammate freshman Peyton Grant rather than try to force the ball around the reach of Penquis junior Megan Valvo.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
SIXTEEN POINTS FOR NO. 32 — Dexter senior Jacob Bickford gets a shot off for two of his 16 points. In on the play are, from left, Penquis junior Jake Baker and senior Noah Zambrano, Bickford, Penquis sophomore Camron Bailey and freshman Zak Mills and Dexter senior Matthew Hanscome.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
POINTS IN THE PAINT — Sophomore Sydney Fowles shoots over Dexter freshman Cheyenne Beem (23) as Tiger freshmen Peyton Grant (5) and Avery Herrick (20) look on. Fowles scored a game-high 16 points, with 14 coming in the second half and 10 in the third quarter.