Presque Isle Advances, Beats Hermon Behind Late Surge

The fifth County game of the day featured the fourth-seed Presque Isle Lady Wildcats and the fifth-seed Hermon Lady Hawks, the third meeting between the teams this season. Presque Isle had won the first two by eight and by two, but this one started with Hermon dictating the pace.

• Presque Isle beat Hermon 48-37 in a Class B girls quarterfinal

• Emily Collins scored 13 points, Gan Curtis scored 11 points

• Lady Wildcats reach the semifinals for the first time since 2022

Presque Isle struggled early with shot selection against the Hermon press and fell behind, but the Lady Wildcats found their footing late in the first quarter. Hermon’s Rebecca Balmas scored seven points in the opening frame, and Hermon led 11-6 after one.

The second quarter was a grind with both teams trading baskets. Presque Isle had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but Hermon held a 19-17 lead at halftime.

Hermon came out on fire to start the third with a 7-0 run, and Presque Isle answered right back with a quick 7-0 run of its own. The teams traded the lead down the stretch, and an Emily Collins 3-pointer helped swing momentum late, but Hermon still edged ahead 32-31 after three.

Then Presque Isle took over in the fourth. The Lady Wildcats scored four quick points, found mismatches, and locked in defensively. Presque Isle built a nine-point lead late, held Hermon scoreless for most of the quarter, and closed out a 48-37 win.

Presque Isle moves to 14-5 and reaches the semifinals for the first time since 2022. Collins led the way with 13 points, Gan Curtis scored 11 points, and Breanna Burlock added 10 points, including eight points in the fourth quarter. Hermon finishes 10-9, led by Balmas with 18 points, and Abbie Bradstreet scored 11 points.

Next up, Presque Isle will await the winner of the Gardiner Tigers vs Cony Rams quarterfinal.

Read More:

• 🏆 Athlete of the Week hub: Winter Week Ten Athlete of the Week nominations are live! Nominate and vote for student-athletes across the County >> [LINK]

• County Athletes named to the McDonald's All-Star Team, read about who made the team >> [HERE]

• Read about local County schools and their past tournament results, and some records that may shock you HERE>> [HERE]

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