The top-ranked Houlton pulled away from Piscataquis Tuesday night to a convincing quarterfinal victory at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

Senior standout Kolleen Bouchard powered the defending regional champs past the outmatched Pirates, who fell to Houlton 65-26.

Houlton, who moved to Class C this year, used its potent offense and smothering defense to stymie the Pirates, who fell behind by 40 points at one point in the second half.

Beating the undefeated Shiretowners is no easy task, but even more so for Piscataquis, who lost two of their starters to injury in recent days.

Bouchard led Houlton in scoring with 26 points.

Erin Speed, who had the unenviable task of defending Bouchard for much of the night, led the Pirates with 12 points.

The Pirates of Guilford finish their season at 14-5.

Houlton will play No. 5 Central in a semifinal game at 3:35 p.m. on Friday.

During the regular season, Houlton beat Central by 10 points in early January, and 13 points in February.

More From