Sportsmanship display highlights post-game chat

After a cool-down period following Thursday’s Eastern Maine Class D girls basketball semifinal, Terry Cummings, the coach of the No. 3 Greater Houlton Christian Academy girls basketball team, finished talking to his Eagles and opened the locker room door.

On the other end of the hallway in the Bangor Auditorium, the members of the No. 2 Washburn team were filing out of their locker room, chatting happily in the wake of their 49-47 win.

Cummings asked Washburn coach Ron Ericson to have his girls stay behind. Both teams’ players and coaches gathered around Cummings as he made a short speech.

“It’s easy to say something before a game, but can you say the same thing after?” he told the Washburn players. “And I can tell you, yes I can. I told you guys, if you won we’d be very happy for you. I told everyone, there’s not a team I would have rather lost to as a coach, as hard as it is, 49-47. Two games in a row, that’s hard to take. … I believe this – you guys may not believe this and that’s OK but I believe it – we really helped you guys this year, and I believe that we motivated you guys to get where you’re going to be on Saturday. We wish you the best.”

It was a touching display of sportsmanship, especially as many of the Greater Houlton Christian players behind Cummings were still a bit teary-eyed after the loss.

The two teams are quite friendly, both Cummings and Ericson said after the game, and split in the regular season. The Beavers handed the Eagles their only regular-season loss – also 49-47 – on Jan. 15. GHCA won the first game 52-44 on Jan. 15.

Korhonen ends stellar career

The Greater Houlton Christian girls program would probably never have gotten as far as it has the last two years without Megan Korhonen.

Korhonen came tantalizingly close to being the first GHCA girls player to score 1,000 career points. She needed 21 points to reach the mark but scored 19 before fouling out of the semifinal against Washburn with 6.6 seconds left.

Coach Terry Cummings said he knew when Korhonen walked to the bench that she was off by two points.

“She’s a total team player,” Cummings said. “She’s meant so much to this program. She’s not only a great athlete but great academically. She deserves nothing but the best. She has all kinds of fight and spunk and never gives up. I wish she could have went a little farther but she’ll grow from this experience and that’s what it’s all about.”

Korhonen was an Eastern Maine Class D all-tournament team member last year. She scored 13 points in addition to 10 rebounds and three assists in GHCA’s 38-33 quarterfinal win over No. 6 Ashland Saturday.

Ericson back in final

Ron Ericson had an impressive run as the Washburn girls basketball coach from 1983 to 1996 with Eastern Maine Class B championships in 1986, 1988 and 1989.

He’s back in the regional title game in his second stint with the Beavers.

“The idea of that is exciting,” Ericson said. “But it’s more fun to be here with them. It’s more important that I’m enjoying the kids. The rest of it is really immaterial.”

All three EM title years the Beavers also won state championships.

Washburn will be trying for its first EM title since the Beavers won the 1989 regional crown in his first stint at the school.

“This has been a goal of ours since the beginning of the season and we’re excited to finally be here,” said Washburn junior forward Erica McDougall.