BANGOR, Maine — Bangor High School junior guard Avery Clark had a forgettable first quarter in the Rams’ Class AA game against youthful Thornton Academy of Saco on Friday night as she missed all 11 of her field goal attempts.
But Clark didn’t let that impact her as she went 7-for-11 from the floor the rest of the way en route to a game-high 22 points helping the Rams hold off Thornton Academy 45-43 at the Red Barry Gym in Bangor.
Clark sank two free throws with 12 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Rams, who are now 10-5 with three wins in their last four games and six in their last eight.
Thornton Academy, which started four freshmen and a sophomore, fell to 5-9 after having its two-game winning streak snapped.
Thornton Academy jumped out to a 10-3 lead but the Rams battled back and took a 22-20 lead into halftime on Ayzlynn Gifford’s 3-pointer that closed out the half.
The Trojans took a 28-27 lead midway through the third period but Clark sparked an 8-2 run that gave Bangor the lead for good at 35-30 as she hit a pair of short jump shots, fed Emily Adams for a layup and nailed a jumper from the foul line off an Adams pass.
The Trojans cut the lead to one on two occasions the rest of the way including making it 43-41 with 28 seconds left on Sienna Eldred’s three-foot shot from the paint off a Hannah Kenniston steal and pass.
But the Rams protected the ball on several inbounds passes interspersed with Bangor timeouts and Clark was eventually fouled.
Clark said she knew she needed to make them and she did.
She added that the team had a good second half.
“We started the game off kind of slow but, in the second half, we came out and were really aggressive and took quality shots,” said Clark. ”We were moving better and we played with each other. It was great.”
In addition to her 22 points, she also had 10 rebounds and four steals.
“She has a great battery and a lot of energy,” said Golden Trojans head coach Suzanne Rondeau about Clark. “She does all the little things to help her team. She was impressive.”
Point guard Gifford, one of three seniors honored before the game, finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two steals and senior forward Adams produced six points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Freshman guard Brooke Bodnar paced TA with 15 points and five rebounds and freshmen forward/center Eldred had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Freshman guard Sophia Sirois chipped in with six points and five rebounds and sophomore guard and sophomore guard Kenniston had five points and two steals.
The Rams pressed full-court and forced the Trojans into a bunch of turnovers.
“It was a good competitive game,” said Bangor coach Jay Kemble. “They have some quality players with good skills.
“After the first four minutes, our poise got better and our shot selection got better and we made shots. Our intensity was really good,” Kemble added.
He also said Clark’s ability to bounce back from a poor first period was impressive.
“She didn’t let her misses influence her. It didn’t prevent her from taking shots and when you’re a scorer, you have to have that mentality,” said Kemble.
Clark came into the game as Bangor’s leading scorer and the No. 5 point-producer in AA North with a 13.6 points-per-game average.
She is also second in the division in steals with 3.2 per game.
Bangor was again without junior guard Dalaney Horr, who was sidelined by sickness for the fifth straight game. Horr leads AA North in steals (3.5) and is second in assists (3.7) while also averaging 9.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Kemble said he thought Adams did a good job guarding Eldred and the Rams were effective helping Adams when Eldred got the ball.
Rondeau said “we are young so pressure (defenses) usually get us and we knew they were going to press us the whole game.
“But the girls have come a long way and I was proud of them. They stayed composed and didn’t let (Bangor) speed them up. They did a great job.
“We needed to be a little more patient on offense,” she added.
Thornton Academy will host Gorham on Tuesday at 6 while Bangor returns to action next Friday at Edward Little of Auburn for a 5 p.m. tipoff.
