PRESQUE ISLE – Kylan Smith and several members of the Presque Isle girls basketball team started Monday afternoon’s game against Hermon cold from the field.

But Smith and the Wildcats heated up when they needed to. And the one thing the ‘Cats know they can count on – their tough full-court man-to-man defense – came through again.

Smith hit a key 3-pointer and later made the game-winning basket, while Tasha Deschene had nine points and 10 rebounds, in an exciting 44-41 victory over the Hawks at the high school gymnasium.

It was a critical matchup for both teams, who have two of the top records in Eastern Maine Class B. And it was a big win for 11-1 Presque Isle, which lost its first regular-season game since the 2002-03 season last Friday night against MDI.

“We had to bounce back from this weekend,” Smith said. “Some of us are sick and we’re all tired, so this is huge for us.”

The Hawks (8-2) looked on their way to a win early and had a 37-34 lead at the end of the third quarter. But the Wildcats picked up their defensive pressure and the home fans responded as if they were at an Eastern Maine tournament game.

Hermon’s Ashley Kelley opened up the fourth quarter with a jumper in the lane but Katie Delong responded with a 3-pointer. Later in the period, Deschene grabbed an offensive rebound and worked it around to Smith, who hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Presque Isle a 40-39 lead, the Wildcats’ first since the first quarter.

“Coach tells us to keep shooting even if you get frustrated,” Smith said. “So we just had to keep shooting and keep trying.”

Cassie White (11 points) regained the lead for the Hawks with a drive along the baseline, but after a series of turnovers and fouls, Smith and Delong came up with the defensive play of the game. The two hassled a Hermon guard in the backcourt until the Hawk player lost control of the ball and it rolled toward the PI basket. Smith picked up the ball and put in the easy layup for a 42-41 lead with 1:32 left in the game. The crowd erupted in cheers.

“I think we kind of tired them out,” Deschene said. “A full-court press sometimes doesn’t work at the beginning [of the game] but it can tire the other team out [by the end of the game].”

Four Hermon fouls and two timeouts later, point guard Deschene helped run 32 seconds off the clock with a spread offense and Smith made two free throws with 12 seconds left to seal the victory.

The Hawks had 15 turnovers, including five in the fourth quarter.

“My girls made some poor decisions down the stretch and I think they had some trouble with the crowd atmosphere,” Hermon coach Margie Deabay said of the huge cheers after Smith’s two big shots. “The girls got a little rattled. We handled the pressure early in the game but we just fell apart all at once.”

Hermon played a 3-2 zone to try to limit the Wildcats from the perimeter. PI went 4-for-24 from behind the arc.

Smith finished with 11 points, including seven in the fourth. Delong, Moriah Morris, 5-foot-11 Heather Richards and 5-10 Angela Norsworthy each added six points. Norsworthy was key coming off the bench for Richards, who got into foul trouble.

As almost expected, the taller Hawks had a 35-25 edge on the boards. Hermon got solid inside play from Malerie Hall and Shannon Wiggin, who combined for 17 rebounds.

“We had to work a lot harder to make up for their height,” Deschene said.

The Hawks worked their outside game with back-to-back 3-pointers from Erica Armstrong and Paige Macdonald in the first quarter. Hermon had an 18-11 lead at the end of the first and a 25-22 lead at halftime but Morris scored all six of her points to help the Wildcats rally in the third.

WILDCATS 44, HAWKS 41

Hermon (8-2) Presque Isle (11-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Armstrong 2 4 0 0 5 Deschene 4 12 0 0 9

White 5 8 0 0 11 Clukey 0 0 0

Kelley 2 5 1 2 5 Delong 2 8 6

Wiggin 1 7 0 0 2 Smith 3 13 11

Hall 3 8 1 3 7 Watnanuchit 0 1 0

Macdonald 2 4 0 0 5 Morris 3 11 6

Gibson 3 4 0 0 6 Norsworthy 3 6

Richards 3 5 6

Totals 18 40 2 5 41 Totals 18 57 44

Hermon 18 25 37 41

Presque Isle 11 22 34 44

3-pt. goals – Hermon (3-5): Armstrong 1-1, Macdonald 1-1, White 1-3; Presque Isle (4-24): Delong 2-7, Deschene 1-6, Smith 1-9, Morris 0-2

JV: Presque Isle 39-24

Attendance: 350 (est.)