BANGOR – Sarah Porter was first through the door. Then the rest of the Presque Isle girls basketball team followed the freshman as she entered the Bangor Auditorium court from the back hall Saturday afternoon.

As the Presque Isle band and student section noticed the Wildcats walking by, the stands erupted in cheers. It was a moment the Presque Isle girls had craved for years but had been denied due to quarterfinal losses two years in a row.

This season, however, coach Jeff Hudson and the Wildcats got it all. The cheers, the nets, and the Eastern Maine Class B championship.

Presque Isle needed a big rally and a clutch 3-pointer by Miss Maine Basketball finalist Katie Delong, but the Wildcats held off No. 7 John Bapst of Bangor 43-35 for their first regional title since 1997.

“You always want that feeling of taking down the nets with the crowd behind you, and the trophy,” Hudson said. “It’s all worth it. This is incredible. In athletics I don’t think there’s any better feeling than winning a championship.”

Hudson and the Wildcats had exited the Auditorium with more of a sinking feeling each of the previous two years.

“We knew we could do it,” Delong said. “We just had to put together at the right time.”

PI will return to Bangor Friday at 7 p.m. to face Western Maine champ Lake Region in the state final.

Angela Norsworthy scored a team-high 12 points for the 20-1 Wildcats, who struggled early with turnovers and nearly bowed under a 12-0 Bapst run.

Although Bapst continued to score – Chere Wickstrom hit two 3-pointers in the stretch – Presque Isle kicked up its pressure defense. It worked especially well at the end of the second quarter as the ‘Cats rallied from a 14-point deficit with a 9-0 run of their own.

Presque Isle’s press wore out the Crusaders, who didn’t get a substitution until there was 1:27 left in the third quarter. Wickstrom and Lauren Nichols also got into foul trouble, as did Hillary Laferriere, who picked up her fourth with 2:25 left in the game and eventually fouled out with 50 seconds left.

“Everyone was tired, but we tried to work through it the best we could,” said Laferriere, who led the Crusaders with 12 points. “Turnovers, fouls, stuff like that, that hurt us.”

Just as things really started to click in the third, Delong picked up her second, third and fourth fouls in a four-second span and went to the bench with 3:07 left in the third quarter and a 27-23 Crusader lead.

The Wildcats opened the fourth quarter with a Porter put-back and a Kylan Smith jumper that started with a steal by Shaina Watananuchit, who came off the bench for Delong.

“We knew if we could get back into the game it wouldn’t be because of offense,” Delong said. “It would be because of our defense. We had to step it up on defense. Coming out in the second half we played a lot better.”

With Bapst’s lead cut to one, Moriah Morris made two free throws to put PI up for the first time since early in the first quarter. Laferriere responded with a turnaround jumper to regain the lead for Bapst with 4:36 left.

Eight seconds later, Delong was back in the game.

And 54 seconds after re-entering, Delong took a pass from Kylan Smith and drained a 3-pointer from left of the key.

“We switched around our offense a little bit and started to work the ball around more, looking for better shots,” Delong said. “I was open so I took the shot, and it went in.”

Norsworthy had two more baskets and the Wildcats sealed it at the free throw line, while the Crusaders missed two field goals and a free throw.

WILDCATS 43, CRUSADERS 35

John Bapst (16-6) Presque Isle (20-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Jordan 1 2 0 0 2 Porter 2 6 6

Freeman 2 10 0 1 4 Delong 3 5 9

Maquillan 0 0 0 0 0 Smith 3 8 8

Nichols 4 7 0 0 8 Watnncht 0 0

Greenlaw 0 3 2 2 2 Morris 2 5 8

Wickstrom 2 8 1 2 7 Moody 0 0 0

Wadleigh 0 2 0 0 0 Norswrthy 5 12

McGuan 0 0 0 0 0

Gibson 0 0 0 0 0

Laferriere 6 8 0 0 12

Totals 15 40 3 5 35 Totals 15 32 10 18 43

John Bapst 9 21 31 35

Presque Isle 6 16 26 43

3-pt. goals – John Bapst (2-6): Wickstrom 2-5, Freeman 0-1; Presque Isle (3-11): Delong 1-2, Porter 1-4, Smith 1-4, Morris 0-1