The Penobscot Valley girls basketball team will be playing in its third Class C North championship game in four years after an impressive 42-27 semifinal victory over Hodgdon on Friday afternoon at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Second seed Penobscot Valley, now 19-1, will take on the winner of the Dexter-Central game in Saturday’s 7 p.m. final.
Third seed Hodgddon wound up 18-2.
Senior twins Kaya and Holly Loring and sophomore Ellie Austin led for PVHS.
Kaya Loring had 12 points before leaving the game with an upper body injury in the fourth quarter. Holly Loring had nine points, five rebounds and four steals and Austin had nine points and six rebounds for Howlers.
Anna Oliver’s six points and seven rebounds, Sadie Thompson’s six points and three rebounds and Meghan Peters’ five points, eight rebounds and two steals led Hodgdon.
Holly Loring scored nine points in the first half and the Howlers held the cold-shooting Hawks to just a pair of Thompson 3-pointers and three free throws.
Hodgdon shot 2-for-21 from the floor against the taller Howlers, who turned in an exceptional defensive effort.
Holly Loring’s traditional 3-point play opened the scoring and triggered a 9-0 run and the Howlers never looked back.
She then fed twin sister Kaya for a layup.
Kaya Loring sank a pair of free throws and Austin capped the spurt with a hook shot from the paint.
Thompson hit her first three with 1:28 left in the quarter for Hodgdon’s first points of the afternoon.