by Pete Warner, Special to the BDN
Sophomore guard Avery Clark scored six straight points during a pivotal stretch late in the game on Friday night to lift third-seeded Bangor to a 35-27 Class AA North girls basketball quarterfinal victory over No. 6 Windham at Red Barry Gym in Bangor.
The Rams (13-6) advance to face No. 2 Oxford Hills of South Paris (14-5) in Wednesday’s 2 p.m. regional semifinal at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
The Eagles ended their season at 7-12.
Bangor finally generated some momentum behind its tenacious half-court player-to-player defense, which included the tireless hustle of sophomore Clara Oldenburg.
Neither team was able to establish itself consistently during a first half that was characterized by turnovers and contested shots.
Windham’s zone defense did a decent job of bottling up the paint and Rams center Mimi Quinn, who managed only a free throw in the first 16 minutes.
Bangor opened up the contest in player-to-player defense, but encountered some issues trying to prevent cuts through the lane by the Eagles. Windham was focused on getting close-range shots and shot 7-for-18 from the floor.
The hosts made a few baskets from the lane initially, but were unable to score in the paint after that. Bangor was bolstered by the outside shooting of Delaney Horr (two 3-pointers) and Avery Clark, who hit one from long range.
However, the Rams shot only 25 percent overall.
The teams combined for 19 turnovers, with Bangor committing 10 of those.
