BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor High School girls’ basketball team appeared to be well on its way to its first loss of the season after a forgettable first half which saw the Rams score only two points in the second quarter and staring at a 24-9 halftime deficit against defending state AA champ Oxford Hills of South Paris on Tuesday night.
But the youthful Rams rallied behind two of their three sophomore starters, guards Avery Clark and Dalaney Horr, to pull out an impressive 44-38 victory at the Red Barry Gymnasium in Bangor.
Bangor improved to 6-0 while Oxford Hills fell to 2-3.
The game and the ensuing boys contest between the two schools were supposed to be played in South Paris, but heating problems at Oxford Hills High resulted in the two schools swapping home dates.
Horr scored all 12 of her points in the second half, including three 3-pointers, and Clark produced 10 of her 14 points over the final 16 minutes.
Bangor, which shot 3-for-20 from the floor in the first half, outscored Oxford Hills 20-2 in the third quarter to build a 29-26 lead and rattled off an 11-4 run to start the fourth quarter to expand the lead to 10 with 4:20 remaining.
Oxford Hills couldn’t get any closer than seven until Gabbie Tibbetts’ steal and jump shot closed out the scoring with 8.9 seconds left.
Bangor shot 8-for-14 from the floor in the third period and 12 for 21 in the second half, while Oxford Hills went 1-for-9 and 5-for-23, respectively.
“We came out a little timid in the first half. They had [Ella] Pelletier in the middle and we didn’t attack the basket. We were a little soft going up for the shot,” said Bangor coach Jay Kemble. “But there was no panic by our girls at halftime.
“They came out with smiles on their faces, they attacked the basket and made shots and that gave them confidence,” Kemble added.
The Bangor coach also said he switched over to their usual man-to-man defense after using a matchup zone in the first quarter to try to neutralize 2022-23 Bangor Daily News All-Maine Schoolgirl second teamer Pelletier in the paint, and his team paid for it as the Vikings hit five of their seven 3-pointers to build a 19-7 lead.
“That’s on me. That was my fault,” said Kemble. “After we went man-to-man, the girls dug in, played really hard and played well together. They limited [Oxford Hills’] number of shots.”
“We picked up our defense and our energy was better, all around,” said Horr. “The man-to-man really helped.”
“We came out stronger in the second half,” said Clark. “We really wanted it.”
Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier said his team has to “play better.”
“We have to play a whole game. They made some great adjustments and we didn’t. We did not play great defense [in the second half] and we also needed to rebound better,” said Pelletier, whose team was outrebounded 15-11 in the second half after holding a sizable 21-8 edge in the first half.
Clark had five rebounds to go with her team-high 14 points, and Horr had three steals and two assists to accompany her 12 points. Senior forward Mimi Quinn contributed eight points, a team-high 11 rebounds and three steals and junior Emily Adams contributed six points and three rebounds.
The talented Pelletier, a junior, finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds despite being in foul trouble. Both were game-highs. She also had three assists. She picked up her third foul with 5:49 left in the third period and was assessed her fourth with 4:04 remaining in the game.
Junior Gabbie Tibbetts had 12 points and six rebounds, and senior Maddy Miller wound up with four points and five rebounds.
Maddy Herrick grabbed six rebounds.
Oxford Hills was without 3-point shooting specialist Tristen Derenburger, who hasn’t played yet due to an injury but could be back later this season according to the Oxford Hills coach.
Bangor began its rally by reeling off the first nine points of the second half on a Clara Oldeburg baseline basket off a Quinn pass; two Clark free throws; a Horr 3-pointer off an Adams pass and a Quinn hook shot.
After Miller scored off a Herrick feed, Bangor closed out the quarter with the next 11 points that included two baskets by Adams, a Horr 3-pointer, a Quinn inside finish off a Oldeburg pass, and an Emily Caulkins layup.
Bangor was still holding a three-point lead with 6:17 remaining before Horr converted a layup and a three off a Quinn pass, and Clark drove inside for a basket to make it 40-30 with 4:20 left.
Pelletier’s turnaround jumper and layup off a nifty move sandwiched a Clark free throw to make it 41-34 with 44.5 seconds left, but Horr sank a free throw and Clark hit two more to sew up the victory.
Both teams will be in action again on Thursday as Bangor will visit Edward Little of Auburn for a 6:30 p.m. contest while Oxford Hills will travel to Portland to take on Cheverus at 7.
