Dexter rallies to beat Penobscot Valley in C North girls basketball final
By Pete Warner, Special to the Bangor Daily News
BANGOR — During the last two seasons, the Dexter Regional HIgh School girls basketball team has been in many close games. Throughout, led by their veterans, the Tigers have maintained their composure.
So when top-seeded Dexter spotted No. 3 Penobscot Valley of Howland a 10-point, first-quarter lead on Saturday night, Feb. 24 the resilient Tigers just kept playing hard.
Dexter responded by holding the Howlers scoreless for nearly 16 minutes en route to a 28-23 victory in the Class C North girls basketball championship game at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
REGIONAL CHAMPS — Members of the Dexter girls basketball team hoist the plaque representing their Class C North championship at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Feb. 24. The Tigers defeated Penobscot Valley 28-23.
“Going into halftime, we were really nervous because of our lack of defensive intensity,” Dexter senior guard Cally Gudroe said of the Tigers’ player-to-player effort. “It was time for us to kind of slow it down in our minds, come together as a team and do the fundamental things right.”
Head coach Jody Grant’s top-seeded Tigers (18-1), the defending North champions, face South winner Hall-Dale of Farmingdale (20-2), a 49-36 victor over Madison, in the 7:05 p.m. state title game on Saturday, March 2 at the Augusta Civic Center.
“We never get too high. We never get too low,” Grant said of his team. “We just come to work every day.”
GRABBING A HOLD — Dexter’s Mazie Peach rebounds the ball during the Class C North championship game vs. Penobscot Valley at the Cross Insurance Center. The Tigers repeated as regional champs.
Third-seeded PVHS, coached by Nate Case, closed out the season at 18-3.
The Howlers manufactured a 15-0 scoring run in the first half that helped them build a 10-point advantage. But when PVHS attempted to spread the floor and slow the game down, looking for some additional room to operate at the offensive end, its momentum slowly faded.
Dexter extended its player-to-player defense considerably and answered the strategic challenge, holding the Howlers scoreless for 15 minutes, 46 seconds beginning early in the second quarter.
LOW POST — Dexter’s Hannah Dean eyes the basket under the defense of Penobscot Valley’s Mia Neal during the Class C North championship.
PVHS committed 10 turnovers during that same span, helping fuel some transition opportunities and a boost of confidence that re-energized the Tigers.
“We lost a little composure in the third quarter that we couldn’t recover from,” Case said. “Letting them get in transition and kind of forcing things on offense was tough.”
Senior Mazie Peach, a 6-foot-2 post player, opened Dexter’s game-changing surge with an offensive rebound basket, then sophomore Desiree Adams scored a layup off her own steal to cut the deficit to 15-13 with 1:28 left in the third quarter.
CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES — Dexter players celebrate their 28-23 win over Penobscot Valley in the Class C North girls championship. The Tigers will play South champion Hall-Dale in the state championship on Saturday, March 2.
“We knew if we kept playing our game that we could keep chipping away and that we would stay in the game,” Peach said. “As long as we play together, there’s not a lot of teams that can break that.”
Another rebound hoop by Peach (12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots), senior Hannah Dean’s steal and left-handed layup and a 3-pointer at the period horn by senior Cally Gudroe gave the Tigers the lead for good at 20-15.
“That 3 that Cally hit in the corner at the end of the third quarter was a big thing to keep that momentum going,” Grant said.
Junior Ellie Austin (4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) finally ended the PVHS scoring drought 52 seconds into the fourth quarter, but Dexter scored eight of the next 14 points to close it out.
Dean contributed six points and four rebounds for the Tigers, while junior guard Abbie Corson and Gudroe posted four points each.
Mia Neal and Rylee Moulton netted eight points each for PVHS.