BANGOR, Maine — Hampden Academy girls basketball coach Nick Winchester knew he needed to come up with a way to prevent an athletic Bangor High School team from using its quickness to drive to the basket.
The answer was a 2-3 zone, and it worked to perfection from the opening whistle on Saturday morning as his Class A North Broncos scored the game’s first 13 points and held the AA North Rams to just seven points in the first half en route to a 37-26 win at Red Barry Gym.
Both teams are now 7-4 with Hampden Academy extending its winning streak to three games while ending Bangor’s own three-game winning streak.
Bangor missed its first 15 field goal attempts and went just 3-for-20 from the floor in the first half as Hampden Academy built an 18-7 halftime lead.
Bangor’s shooting woes continued in the third period as the Rams went 2-for-14 from the floor while being outscored 14-4 as HA built an insurmountable 21-point lead.
“We decided early in the process that we needed to have a change of pace because there are certain teams we don’t match up with athletically or speed-wise,” said Winchester. “We’ve been working on this [2-3 zone] for the past week and a half, trying to improve our positioning and movement and stuff like that and the first half was as good as we’ve ever played in that defense all year long.
“We did a good job on every possession,” he added.
“Hampden played very well, defensively,” said Bangor coach Jay Kemble. “They applied great pressure against us.”
Kemble shouldered the blame for the loss, saying “I didn’t have them ready enough to compete [against that zone].”
He also said they forced some shots in the first quarter and didn’t have good looks.
Bangor senior point guard Ayzylynn Gifford said the Broncos clogged up the middle to deny their penetration and forced them to shoot outside.
‘And we couldn’t hit anything. The first half killed us,” said Gifford.
“We knew they were a pretty athletic team so we had to make them work [for their points],” said
Hampden Academy sophomore guard Katelyn Adams, who led all scorers with 12 points including a pair of threes and a free throw for seven points in the first half.
“If you leave Katelyn open with any amount of room, she will make you pay from the 3-point line,” said Winchester.
She also had five rebounds and two steals.
“Our energy, communication, intensity and effort set us up for this win,” said Adams.
Winchester also said he liked his team’s patience on offense.
“We took good shots all game long, we got the ball where we wanted to and we got contributions up and down the lineup,” said Winchester.
Sophomore guard Aubrey Shaw contributed nine points and 10 rebounds and 6–foot-2 junior forward Grace LaBree had nine points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.
LaBree also did a good job protecting the rim in the middle of the 2-3 zone as she altered several Bangor shots.
Sophomore guard Eve Wiles had four points and two steals, and forward Caitlin Murphy, HA’s only senior, had four rebounds, two steals and two assists along with a free throw.
Gifford and junior guard Avery Clark had seven points apiece. The Broncos did a nice job defending Clark, who was held six points below her average.
Clark had a team-high seven rebounds and Gifford had two.
Junior guard Clara Oldenburg contributed four points and four rebounds off the bench. Senior guard Emily Adams had a 3-pointer and two rebounds. Lucy O’Connelll had a basket and three rebounds.
Bangor wound up shooting 10-for-42 from the floor (23.8 percent).
Bangor was without junior guard Dalaney Horr, who was sick. Horr leads AA North in steals with 3.5 per game and she is tied for first in assists with 3.7 per contest. She is also fifth in AA North with her 6.8 rebounds per game and 11th in scoring at 9.7 ppg.
“That made a big difference in the effectiveness of our defense, for sure,” said Winchester. “If you’re going to play a zone and she’s on the floor, that’s another one of the people you have to account for because she’s such a good shooter.”
Shaw opened the game with a three from the top of the key off a Murphy pass and Adams followed with another three off a LaBree pass before freshman Mallory Lausier closed out the scoring in the first quarter with a jumper from the right side of the key.
Murphy passed to Adams for a three from the corner to open the second quarter scoring before Shaw passed to LaBree underneath for a basket.
Oldenburg’s steal and layup provided Bangor with its first points of the game with 4:20 left in the half.
Both teams will return to action on Tuesday as Bangor will visit Scarborough for a 6 p.m. game while Hampden Academy will travel to Gardiner for a 6:30 contest.
