Ashland Lady Hornets to the Semis in Class S with win over Deer Isle, 27-16

The second County team in Bangor on Wednesday got a defensive clinic from the Ashland Lady Hornets.

In another Class S quarterfinal, the fifth-seed Hornets faced the fourth-seed Deer Isle-Stonington Lady Mariners, and it took a few minutes for both teams to settle in after not seeing each other in the regular season. The opening quarter was quiet, but Ashland found a groove late, ripping off an eight-nothing run over the final two minutes. Addison Labelle and Angel Hafford each had a pair of buckets during the surge, and Ashland carried a 10-7 lead into the second.

From there, the Hornets’ pressure took over. Ashland held Deer Isle-Stonington scoreless for the entire second quarter and went to halftime up 16-7. The Lady Mariners finally broke a long scoring drought at the line early in the third, but Ashland answered with a quick burst of its own, including a two and a three to keep control. Deer Isle showed some life with a Mallory Henssler three and a free throw, but Ashland still led 24-12 after three.

The fourth quarter was all about closing, and Ashland did exactly that, finishing off a 27-16 win. The Hornets forced 26 turnovers and piled up 17 steals as a team, turning defense into offense all afternoon. Sadie Trams led all scorers with 10 points, and Ashland now advances to face the winner of the Wisdom-Van Buren girls quarterfinal on Thursday at 3:00 PM. Deer Isle-Stonington’s season ends at 10-9.

Earlier in the day, Narraguagus opened Class D girls action with a 52-17 preliminary win over Fort Fairfield. The Lady Tigers finish their season at 7-12, while Narraguagus moves on to face second-seed Machias on Saturday at 1:30 PM.

In between County team games in Bangor at the Tournament, Jonesport-Beals also picked up a 43-28 win over Shead in girls play. The Lady Royals will now await the winner of the Katahdin-Van Buren quarterfinal on Thursday night. On the boys side, Jonesport-Beals rolled past Deer Isle 77-25 and will face fifth-seed Shead on Tuesday morning in the second game of the Class S semifinal morning session.