Bangor hoop league grows 13 girls teams competing

The 1992 Summer Basketball League got under way Monday evening at Bangor High School. This year’s league play will be at three sites, incGymnasium on the Husson College campus in Bangor, and at Brewer Middle School.

In three years, Husson women’s head basketball coach and league director Kissy Walker (who created the program because there was nothing like it available when she played high school basketball at Cony of Augusta) has seen the league grow from eight to 13 teams.

A busy summer of two to three games per night at the three sites concludes with a tournament at Husson College starting Friday, July 31, and continuing on Aug. 3-4. Stearns of Millinocket is the defending league champion.

Teams competing in the largest league to date with Stearns are Orono, Bangor I, Bangor II, Nokomis of Newport, Central of East Corinth, Bucksport, Ellsworth, Old Town, Hampden Academy, Hermon, Mount Desert Island and Brewer.

Walker is thrilled with the growth of the league and even more so with what she sees as the growth of girls high school basketball in the area.

“We started with eight teams, had 10 last year, and picked up Bangor II, Bucksport and MDI this year,” she said.

“It’s amazing the amount of interest and the schedules these kids are playing now. We had to try to reschedule one Nokomis game, for example, and it was nearly impossible because those kids are working this league in with the rest of their schedule. They play nearly 40 games this summer. It’s wonderful.”

The teams, from Classes A, B, and C, compete head-to-head, regardless of class. And, Walker said, one reason coaches and kids like the league is that they compete against a variety of teams and styles.

For some teams, the league provides an opportunity to play up a class, for others it provides an opportunity to play teams scheduled for the regular season. All in all, Walker said, the league helps everyone.

All teams make the tournament, seeded by won-loss records. If a tie exists at the end of the regular season, Walker said the tie is broken “by who-beat-who or, if that is the same, then by the point spread.”

Walker runs the league with the volunteer assistance of two men – her Husson College volunteer assistant coach Randy Dodge, and Roland Cyr, a local board official, who volunteered to serve as the assigner for officials.

“The overall response has been great,” Walker reiterated. “Everyone likes it, for different reasons. I think parents like it because it keeps their kids busy in the summer.”

At Bangor High School on Monday, league play opened at 6 p.m. with Stearns vs. Orono and Bangor II vs. Central, followed by Nokomis and Bucksport.

Husson College 1992 Summer League Schedule

July 1 at Bangor, 6 p.m., Stearns vs. Bucksport, Orono vs. Nokomis; 7:30 p.m., Bangor I vs. Central, Ellsworth vs. Old Town.

July 6 at Husson, 5:30 p.m., Hampden vs. MDI, Stearns vs. Bangor II; 7 p.m., Bucksport vs. Ellsworth, Bangor I vs. Nokomis; 8:30 p.m., Hermon vs. Old Town, Central vs. Brewer.

July 7 at Husson, 5:30 p.m., Bangor II vs. MDI, Hampden vs. Brewer; 7 p.m., Bangor I vs. Orono, Old Town vs. Nokomis; 8:30 p.m., Hermon vs. Bucksport,

July 8 at Bangor, 6 p.m., Central vs. Old Town, Bangor I vs. Hampden; 7:30 p.m., Ellsworth vs. Nokomis, Brewer vs. Bucksport.

July 10 at Bangor, 6 p.m., Orono vs. Old Town, Stearns vs. Hermon; 7:30 p.m., Bangor II vs. Hampden, MDI vs. Nokomis.

July 13 at Husson, 5:30 p.m., Stearns vs. Brewer, Bangor vs. Old Town; 7:00 p.m., Hermon vs. Bucksport, Hampden vs. Orono; 8:30 p.m., Central vs. MDI.

July 15 at Brewer, 5:45 p.m., Stearns vs. MDI; 7 p.m. Bangor II vs. Brewer; 8:15 p.m., Ellsworth vs. MDI.

July 16 at Bangor, 6 p.m., Stearns vs. Bangor I, Hermon vs. Central; 7:30 p.m., Bangor II vs. Bucksport, Hampden vs. Old Town.

July 17 at Husson, 5:30 p.m., Bangor II vs. Ellsworth, Stearns vs. Nokomis; 7 p.m., Orono vs. Bucksport, Hampden vs. Central; 8:30 p.m., Hermon vs. MDI.

July 23 at Husson, 5:30 p.m., Stearns vs. Ellsworth, Bangor II vs. Orono; 7 p.m., Old Town vs. Bucksport, Central vs. Nokomis; 8:30 p.m., Hermon vs. Brewer.

July 24 at Husson, 6 p.m., Bangor I vs. Hermon, Hampden vs. Ellsworth; 7:30 p.m., Brewer vs. Orono, Old Town vs. MDI.

July 28 at Brewer, 6 p.m., Stearns vs. MDI.

July 30 at Bangor, 6 p.m., Stearns vs. Hampden, Bangor II vs. Old Town; 7:30 p.m., Bangor I vs. MDI, Hermon vs. Orono; 8:45 p.m., Brewer vs. Ellsworth.