Pickering’s big effort gets Lee past Patriots Pandas to play defending champ Woodland

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BANGOR – Lee forward Shelby Pickering may be just 5-foot-9, but she plays like she’s a lot taller.

She certainly got the better of Bangor Christian’s taller post players during Thursday evening’s Eastern Maine Class D semifinal.

Pickering had to go up against a Patriot starting lineup of 6-foot-1, 5-10 and 5-11 forwards and centers. Still, she put in 23 points and hauled in a team-high 13 rebounds as the Pandas topped the Patriots 78-61 at the Bangor Auditorium.

Pickering and a well-rounded offense helped propel Lee into a matchup with Woodland, an 83-45 winner over Van Buren Thursday afternoon, for the Eastern Maine Class D title. That game will be played Saturday at 9:05 a.m. at the Auditorium.

The Dragons, who got 28 points out of Ashley Marble Thursday, and the Pandas split two regular-season games.

Whether driving her way inside, getting passes from guards, or putting back offensive rebounds (she had nine of them), Pickering helped Lee maintain its lead. She scored 16 points in the first half and shot 10-for-14 from the floor.

“Shelby is an amazing player,” said senior guard Deidra Ham, who scored 11 points and had six assists. “She’s, what, 5-9? And she plays like she’s 6-1, 6-2. She’ll battle with anyone. Put her up against a 6-1 girl and she’ll battle her.”

The speedy Pandas jumped out to a 22-14 lead after the first quarter thanks to quick transition play and Bangor Christian turnovers (the Patriots had 15 turnovers in the first half).

Lee and Bangor Christian played each other twice in the regular season, so the Patriots knew the pressure defense was coming.

“That press in the first quarter, we worked on it and worked on it but we just didn’t execute,” Bangor Christian coach Craig Miller said. “We wanted to get [Pickering] out of the game but we just couldn’t get the ball past the press. … Pickering’s a tough little player.”

The second quarter featured a nice mix of the elements Lee excels in: Pickering opened the quarter with two straight inside baskets, Ham and Pickering each scored fast-break baskets off a steal, and Katie Harris nailed a 3-pointer 2:38 into the period for a 35-20 lead.

Harris went on to hit two more 3-pointers, both from at least 23 feet out. She finished with 11 points.

Bangor Christian’s 6-1 center Pam Reitsma had a stellar game, finishing with 18 points and 18 rebounds (12 offensive).

“We knew we had to pack it in with a 2-3 to keep her off the boards and keep her out of her game,” Ham said.

BC’s Heather Niles added 14 points and eight assists, and Jenna Seymour had 12 points.

In the afternoon game, not even a 25-minute suspension of play could cool off the Woodland girls. The defending Class D state champions shot a fine 51.5 percent from the floor.

The game was halted with 4:28 left in the second quarter because a leak in the Auditorium roof was dripping water onto the wood court.

Van Buren just couldn’t keep up with Woodland’s speed, zone press and especially with Marble. Woodland opened the game with an 11-2 surge, all 11 points of which were scored by the senior guard.

Woodland had a 30-11 lead as the teams headed back to their locker rooms to sit. Play resumed, and in the time remaining before the halftime break, the Dragons went on a 21-6 run sparked by a Kaitlyn Leeman fast-break layup.

“We just didn’t have a very good first half,” said Van Buren coach Steve Lapierre, who had just nine players on his roster this year. “I think we did better in the second half but when you’re already down 25, 30 points, it’s hard to come back.”

Leeman, a sophomore point guard, finished with 18 points, seven steals, and six assists.

The Dragons forced 25 turnovers and converted well, too. They went 33-for-64 from the floor and hit five of nine 3-point attempts (Marble was 4-for-6).

Still, Leeman said the Dragons weren’t satisfied.

“As a team I don’t think we shot that well,” she said.

Woodland’s Julia Knights scored 12 points and had a team-high eight rebounds.

Senior standout Nicole Corbin led the Crusaders with 21 points.

DRAGONS 83, CRUSADERS 45

Van Buren girls (17-4) Woodland (19-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

T. Gagnon 0 0 1 2 1 Marble 11 17 28

Hews 0 2 0 0 0 Brown 0 2 0 0

Corbin 8 23 4 10 21 Murphy 0 0 0

Beckwith 0 0 0 0 0 Kochendoerfer 1 2

Parent 7 9 3 4 17 Snowman 1 1 4

Doucette 1 2 2 2 4 Leeman 8 15 18

Cyr 0 0 1 2 1 Smith 4 11 0 8

D. Gagnon 0 10 0 2 0 Newman 2 2 4

Caron 0 1 1 2 1 Lord 1 1 2

St. Pierre 0 0 0

Troiani 0 1 0 0

V. Knights 1 3 2

J. Knights 3 7 10 12

Seavey 0 0 1 1

Vose 1 2 0 2

Totals 16 47 12 24 45 33 64 12 21 83

Van Buren 5 17 31 42

Woodland 18 51 64 83

3-pt. goals: Van Buren (1-8): Corbin 1-8; Woodland (5-9): Marble 4-6, Leeman 1-3

PANDAS 78, PATRIOTS 61

Bangor Christian girls (11-8) Lee (18-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Page 2 8 0 0 6 Mallett 0 0 0 0

Layton 0 0 0 0 0 Bird 1 6 2

Mead 1 3 2 2 4 Hanscom 0 1 0 0

Elliott 0 1 0 0 0 Harris 4 7 11

Niles 5 15 3 6 14 Linscott 4 9

Jenkins 2 6 1 5 5 D. Ham 4 17 11

Seymour 5 10 2 4 12 Hersom 3 8 9

French 0 0 0 0 0 Cole 3 3 7

Snow 1 1 0 2 2 M. Ham 0 1 0 0

Reitsma 8 21 2 7 18 Gifford 2 3 4

Brown 1 1 0 2

Pickering 10 14 23

Maxwell 0 0 0 0

Totals 24 65 10 26 61 32 67 10 22 78

Bangor Christian 14 31 42 61

Lee 22 45 58 78

3-pt. goals: Bangor Christian (3-10): Page 2-5, Niles 1-4, Mead 0-1; Lee (4-14): Harris 3-6, Linscott 1-3, Bird 0-1, Hanscom 0-1, M. Ham 0-1, D. Ham 0