Penobscot Valley of Howland pestered Hodgdon with relentless trapping pressure on Monday night, setting the tone for a 63-30 Class C North girls quarterfinal victory at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Coach Nathaniel Case’s third-seeded Howlers (17-2) will take on the winner of Monday’s late contest between No. 2 Fort Kent and No. 10 Bucksport in Thursday’s 7 p.m. regional semifinal game.
The No. 6 Hawks, who were again without star junior guard Anna Oliver (health issues), closed out the season at 15-5.
Penobscot Valley implemented a trapping press that made things difficult for Hodgdon. The Hawks wound up committing 31 turnovers, which provided the Howlers with transition opportunities and afforded them many extra scoring chances.
Freshman guard Brooklyn Raymond headed a balanced offensive effort by PVHS with 18 points. Her six 3-pointers equaled the Class C North tourney record set in 2011 by Jade Keezer of Orono.
Raymond also provided six rebounds and two blocked shots.
“She’s had a rough week with a little, nagging knee injury, so that’s good for her to come out and really give us a spark,” Case said. “She’s a great sixth man.”
Sophomore guard Rylee Moulton (3 assists) hit three 3’s on her way to 17 points for the Howlers, while junior Ellie Austin posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds along with two assists and two blocks.
Sophomore Lila Cummings tallied 10 points and seven rebounds and senior Ashlyn St. Cyr dished out five assists.
Coach Matt Day’s Hawks were led by 14 points, six rebounds and five steals from senior Aleyah Matheson. Senior Meghan Peters added six points.
PVHS broke the game open with a decisive 15-0 scoring surge in the second quarter. Hodgdon repeatedly turned the ball over in the face of the Howlers’ diamond-and-one defense.
Raymond had the hot hand in transition, knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers in a span of 1 minute, 15 seconds, as PVHS extended its advantage to 34-12 with 3:35 to play in the half. The outcome was never in doubt after that.
In addition to the balky knee, Raymond was coming off a dismal shooting performance in the Howlers’ final regular-season game.
“It was great to see a shot go in and I knew I still had it, basically,” said Raymond, who retained her coach’s confidence.
“If our shots aren’t falling, we know when to stop and move the ball around more,” she said, “but we all have the green light to always take a good shot.”
