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Poirier sisters lead Wellsboro girls in win

WELLSBORO — They share the same last name and they also share the same fierce competitive drive.

That competitiveness burns so hot that Emma Poirier once almost knocked out her older sister Lizzie while playing against each other in a 3-on-3 tournament. But now both are enjoying being teammates. Wellsboro enjoys it even more and both are a big reason a young team is again district semifinal-bound.

The Poirier sisters combined for 23 points and six steals Thursday as Wellsboro played stifling defense and defeated Williamson, 43-26, in the District 4 Class AAA quarterfinals. Wellsboro (17-8) reached last year’s district final and will play tonight’s Hughesville-Troy winner in next week’s semifinals at a time and date to be determined.

“I love seeing her do well. I don’t want to tell her that but I like playing with her even though we fight sometimes,” Lizzie Poirier said. “It’s always been very intense between us, but it’s absolutely better having her on my team.”

Wellsboro has greatly benefitted having the Poirier sisters on the same side. Lizzie built off last year’s breakout playoff performance and scored a game-high 14 points while Emma heated up and was part of a big second half as Wellsboro scored 38 points.

The Hornets held Wil­liam­son to just two first-half field goals but led only 16-6 at halftime. Wellsboro needed a lift and Lizzie Poirier provided it, hitting two quick jumpers. Just like that, Wellsboro heated up and everyone started playing well. Five players scored in the third quarter and Wellsboro built a 22-point lead. The Hornets outscored Williamson, 18-6 in the third quarter and pushed that lead to 23 before coach John Davis pulled his starters.

Lizzie Poirier scored 29 points in a district semifinal against Southern Columbia and continued shining in big games. In addition to scoring 14 points, Poirier also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and made three steals.

“These mean a lot more so there are a lot more nerves that come with it. They are exciting,” Poirier said. “Coach said in the locker room at halftime that we were not playing our game.”

“She definitely doesn’t panic in this situation. She’s clutch for us,” Davis said. “I’m glad she stepped up tonight because we needed somebody to do that.”

The Hornets heated up throughout the second half and Janessa Davis dealt four assists while Autumn Kitajima and Rachael Tuttle combined for nine points and nine rebounds. Kitajima also sparked a stifling defense that forced Williamson into making just 4 of 32 shots through the first three quarters.

Wellsboro made just four first-half field goals but the defense still gave it a 10-point cushion. Offense can come and go but Wellsboro has learned that if the defense is playing strong, it can overcome plenty.

“We said at halftime defense is going to win it for us,” Davis said. “They bought into that and they believed that we’ll just keep them from scoring and be all right. We didn’t execute on offense that first half, but the girls did play good defense and they hustled and they had the intensity.”

Wellsboro has built on last year’s success despite losing a 1,000-point scorer Sarah Ingerick and Jada Jackson, who had more than 600 career rebounds, to graduation. The Hornets start three underclassmen but they overcame a slow start, reached the NTL finals and look like title contenders once again.

“I wasn’t sure we could do it to be honest but here we are,” Poirier said. “We definitely came together and we’ve grown a lot closer.”

Brittany Boyce and An­drea Shieve both scored eight points for Wil­liam­son, which was making its first playoff appearance since 2012. Lilly Fitz­martin grabbed eight re­bounds off the bench while MaKayla Butz added five rebounds.

WILLIAMSON (26)

Brittany Boyce 2 2-4 8, MaKayla Butz 0 0-0 0, Andrea Shieve 4 0-0 8, Hannah Deacon 0 2-2 2, Maran Davis 0 1-2 1, Emma Durst 2 0-0 5, Lilly Fitzmartin 1 0-0 2. Totals 9 5-8 26.

WELLSBORO (43)

Lizzie Poirier 5 3-4 14, Rachael Tuttle 2 0-0 4, Janessa Davis 1 0-0 3, Jessica Grab 2 0-0 4, Emma Poirier 3 3-4 9, Autumn Kitajima 1 2-2 5, Liza Manning 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 8-10 43.

Williamson 1 5 6 14–26

Wellsboro 9 7 18 9–43

3-pointers: Williamson 3 (Boyce 2, Durst); Wellsboro 3 (L. Poirier, Davis, Kitajima)

Records: Wellsboro 17-8. Williamson 11-11.

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