Presque Isle hits shots early and often in win Wildcats’ 3-point accuracy sinks Ellsworth

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ELLSWORTH – The original schedule for the Presque Isle girls basketball team this weekend had the Wildcats driving down for a two-game overnight series against Mount Desert Island on Friday, then Ellsworth on Saturday.

But Friday’s bad weather postponed the MDI game and the ‘Cats had to make a four-hour drive to Ellsworth Saturday morning.

The long ride didn’t seem to hurt them too much.

Presque Isle drained seven 3-pointers in the first quarter, including a 3-for-4 effort from freshman Sarah Porter, whose 15 points led the Wildcats to a 69-30 victory over the Eagles.

“They’re very good,” Ellsworth coach Dana Smith said. “That’s quite a team, to ride on a bus for four hours, get off the bus and just, boom, boom.”

The ‘Cats got off to a strong start and never looked back. Point guard Katie Delong hit the first basket of the game – a 3-pointer, of course – 30 seconds into the first quarter, followed by a Moriah Morris 18-footer and a Kylan Smith 3-pointer.

“For our team, it’s very important to come out with a lot of intensity,” Delong said.

Ellsworth forward Kim Manning was able to get into position for a layup after beating the Wildcats’ full-court press, but a 17-0 Presque Isle run essentially put the game out of reach with 2:22 left in the period.

Porter scored 11 points in the run, including 3-pointers on two possessions in a row and another just before an Ellsworth timeout.

“Once you make one, your confidence goes up,” said Porter, who was 6-for-7 overall from the field. “You could tell that it helped carry us through the entire game.”

Kylan Smith, who finished with 12 points, drained another 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the quarter.

“That set the tone. We just played very poorly against a very good team that played well,” Dana Smith said. “… They’re a good shooting team so all the credit to them, but we’ve got to get out and guard them and we didn’t.”

The Eagles started out in man but did try a 3-2 zone for a stretch.

Presque Isle went 7-for-9 from 3-point range in the first quarter. The Wildcats did cool off eventually as coach Jeff Hudson moved his starters to the bench, but Kylan Smith came back in for a 3-pointer late in the second quarter and Morris, who added 10 points, hit another in the third quarter.

The Wildcats also had a 22-9 rebounding edge in the first half and outrebounded the Eagles 43-35 overall. Delong led both teams with seven boards.

Hillary Savage led Ellsworth with 15 points, including eight in the second quarter.

Although the Eagles tallied 21 turnovers, they didn’t let Presque Isle’s full-court defense rattle them too badly.

“We handled the pressure pretty well,” Dana Smith said.

WILDCATS 69, EAGLES 30

Presque Isle (3-0) Ellsworth (0-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Michaud 2 6 0 0 4 Maddcks 0 6 1

Porter 6 7 0 0 15 Dlrymple 4 9

Clukey 3 5 2 3 8 Cravens 0 2 0

Delong 3 7 0 0 7 Jellison 0 0

Glovins 1 7 0 0 2 Brown 0 1 0

Smith 4 7 1 2 12 Sawyer 1 6 2

Watnuncht 0 2 0 0 0 Manning 1 3 3

Morris 3 7 2 4 10 Gordon 0 0 0

Moody 1 5 1 4 3 McEachrn 0 0

Norswrthy 3 4 2 5 8 Savage 6 17 15

Braley 0 2 0 0 0 Silsby 0 5 0

Totals 26 59 8 18 69 Totals 12 51 30

Presque Isle 28 38 58 69

Ellsworth 5 16 20 30

3-pt. goals – Presque Isle (9-20): Porter 3-4, Smith 3-6, Morris 2-3, Delong 1-2, Norsworthy 0-1, Glovins 0-4; Ellsworth (2-11): Savage 1-6, Dalrymple 1-4, Brown 0-1

JV: Presque Isle 40-31

Attendance: 150 (est.)