ELLSWORTH — A team from Houlton prevailed over the Mount Desert Island “A” team 48-41 to claim the title of the three-day Hancock County Sheriff’s Cup Basketball Tournament last weekend.

The MDI-A girls, coached by Wyman Tapley, played their way through the elimination brackets with a 56-46 win over Old Town, a 50-31 victory over the Bangor YMCA entry and a 52-37 win over Millinocket to reach the final.

The MDI-Houlton game was close throughout with neither team ever leading by more than single digits.

MDI jumped in front early, taking a lead of 11-4 before Houlton went on a 12-1 run.

The Shiretowners led by as much as 20-14 before MDI’s Samantha Farley and Sierra Tapley combined for seven points to knot the score at 24-all at halftime.

The teams swapped leads through much of the second half with back-to-back baskets by Juliana Cleaves and Kelley McConomy putting MDI in front 39-35 with about four minutes to go.

But MDI couldn’t hold the lead as Houlton reeled off 11 unanswered points, thanks in part to a couple of MDI turnovers.

Katie Condon scored consecutive baskets to tie the score, and after a free throw by Megan Collett, Colleen Bouchard hit a basket and a pair of foul shots to put the Shiretowners up 44-39.

MDI managed only a pair of free throws in the final seconds as Houlton went on to the 48-41 win.

The three-day tournament for middle school level players attracted 20 girls’ teams and was played at three venues: the Ellsworth Elementary-Middle School with its two gyms, Ellsworth High School and the Trenton Elementary School.

Numerous volunteers assisted Sheriff’s Department personnel with the various tasks involved in running the tournament.

The event grossed approximately $17,500, and money remaining after expenses are covered will go into the Sheriff’s Charities Fund, which provides annual support for a number of worthy causes.

Walmart was a primary sponsor of the event.

Following are the results from the elimination brackets:

Glenburn 47, Presque Isle 42

Pink Panthers 48, Stonington 27

Bangor YMCA 42, Glenburn 31

MDI-A 56, Old Town 46

Pink Panthers 44, Raiders 20

Millinocket 37, Ellsworth 24

MDI-A 50, Bangor YMCA 31

Mllinocket 43, Pink Panthers 41

MDI 52, Millinocket 37

Rose Gafney 29, Nokomis 27

Houlton 68, Patriots 14

Blizzard 51, Rose Gafney 31

MDI-B 37, Sumner 30

Houlton 62, Lady Eagles 20

Lincoln 54, Swanville 9

Blizzard 62, MDI-B 37

Houlton 41, Lincoln 23

Houlton 57, Blizzard 24

Championship:

Houlton 48, MDI-A 41

For more sports news, pick up a copy of the Mount Desert Islander.