White, Hawks thump Patriots

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HERMON – On the surface, things seemed fine at halftime of Tuesday night’s game.

The Hermon Hawks had an eight-point lead, none of their players were in foul trouble, and they had just outscored Penquis of Milo 12-4 to finish the second quarter.

Still, neither coach Margie Deabay or her veteran players were satisfied.

“We got one shot and that was it because they were boxing us out and outhustling us in the first half,” said Deabay. “I stressed to the girls at halftime that we needed to box out better and get put-backs because we didn’t do that at all early. We were a lot more patient in the second half.”

Hermon’s precision was almost machine-like as they padded the lead in spite of Penquis’ 5-for-10 shooting in the third quarter and simply outworked the Patriots inside in the fourth en route to a 62-42 victory.

“We just needed to slow it down, start running the plays, and once we started doing that, things started coming together and our offense worked better,” said senior guard-forward Cassie White.

White was one half of Hermon’s 1-2 inside punch as she finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Not bad for a non-forward.

“I’m a guard still,” the 5-foot-10 White said with a laugh. “I’ve never really been a forward, but I’m posting up now because I’m one of the taller players.”

She’s not alone. Sophomore forward Ashley Kelley was consistently hard to stop inside as she posted a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. She also had two assists.

“I think in the first half, we weren’t working enough inside,” said the 5-11 Kelley. “We were kind of spreading it out and then in the second, we focused on rebounding underneath and getting put-backs.”

The 0-6 Patriots held their own against the 3-2 Hawks on the boards with 19 rebounds to Hermon’s 21 at the half, but things changed in the second half, especially the fourth quarter when Hermon held a 12-3 edge to finish with a 41-27 advantage. When they weren’t scoring inside baskets, the Hawks were going to the line, hitting seven of eight from the line in the final quarter while Penquis didn’t even have a single free throw attempt.

“That’s the way it’s been for us. It seems like we lose gas in the fourth quarter and I think it’s due to size and experience,” said Penquis coach Brent Bailey. “Rebounding’s been an issue for us and we’re still getting beat off the boards, giving them second and third chances.”

Penquis mostly used a man-to-man defense against Hermon, but did try zone, until Erica Armstrong knocked down a couple 3’s against it.

Junior Mindy Dolley led the Patriots with 11 points and three steals despite being under the weather.

“She’s been sick with bronchitis,” Bailey said. “She’s the main target for every team we play, but she’s tough.”

Senior center Jenny Stetson had nine points and eight rebounds off the Penquis bench.

HAWKS 62, PATRIOTS 42

Penquis (0-6) Hermon (3-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Benoit 1 2 0 0 3 Keith 0 4 1

Palmer 1 6 0 0 2 Ford 0 0 0

Erica Lyfrd 2 7 0 0 4 Berglund 1 4

Carey 0 3 0 0 0 Armstrng 3 8

Gerrish 1 3 0 0 2 Veilleux 1 2

Clark 1 1 0 0 2 White 6 16 16

Sherburne 0 0 0 0 0 Kelley 8 17 23

Dolley 4 14 2 2 11 Barry 0 0 0

Royal 4 7 0 0 9 Helms 2 3 4

Stetson 4 8 1 4 9 Durgin 0 2 0

Davenprt 2 4 4

Totals 18 51 3 6 42 Totals 23 58 13 18 62

Penquis 10 18 30 42

Hermon 14 26 41 62

3-pt. goals – Penquis (3-7): Royal 1-1, Benoit 1-2, Dolley 1-3, Carey 0-1; Hermon (3-6): Armstrong 2-2, White 1-3, Keith 0-1

JV: Hermon 60-22

Attendance: 300 (est.)