Grover sparks Bucksport win

BANGOR – It took Bucksport sophomore center Christy Grover two minutes before she tested her weak left ankle. She took a pass in traffic, powered in a layup, drew a foul, and converted for a conventional three-point play.

The 6-foot-2 Grover went on to a dominating performance with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocked shots to carry No. 6 Bucksport past No. 3 Winslow 64-56 Saturday in a Class B quarterfinal in schoolgirl basketball action at the Bangor Auditorium.

“I had some concerns about my ankle. It has been weak all season and I turned it really bad a couple of weeks ago, but we came out really well and my guards read me well,” said Grover, who played only four minutes in Bucksport’s last two games.

The Bucks, now 12-7, advanced to Wednesday’s 2:05 p.m. Eastern Maine semifinal against Mount Desert Island. Winslow finished at 15-4.

Winslow used a full-court press, featuring quick sophomore guard Kristy Ferran, to create turnovers and force the Bucks out of a good offensive flow. Junior guard Rachel Bard provided the offensive punch with 25 points, including five 3-pointers to tie a Class B record set by Fort Kent’s Neile Joler in 1991.

The Black Raiders’ press bothered the Bucks mostly in the first quarter as Winslow jumped out to a 15-6 lead, but Bucksport junior guard Kara Henderson started breaking through the pressure and the Bucks shut down Winslow’s offense, limiting its opportunities to apply pressure on made baskets.

The result was a 14-2 Bucksport run in the last 3:42 and a 20-17 lead at the end of the first. The Bucks, with more strong play from Grover and senior forward Christina Wheeler inside and Henderson’s solid perimeter play, upped their lead to as much as 12 points in the third quarter before the scrappy Raiders began chipping away and cut it to 60-55 with two minutes left in the game.

However, the Raiders were unable to hit their free throws as they went 0-for-4 on their next two trips, including a series in which Bucksport lost Grover to her fifth foul when she was nailed with a technical foul for hitting the ball before it was passed on an inbounds play.

Bucks 64, Black Raiders 56

Bucksport (12-7) Winslow girls (14-5)

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Kropp 2 4 1 2 5 Bard 10 20 0 2 25

Sawyer 0 1 0 0 0 White 4 8 2 3 10

Wheeler 1 5 2 4 4 Carlson 0 2 0 0 0

Jellison 4 4 3 5 11 Ferran 2 18 3 4 7

Downes 0 5 3 4 3 Fortin 0 1 0 0 0

Henderson 6 11 3 4 15 Gordon 1 6 1 4 3

Grover 9 11 5 7 23 Gagnon 2 5 2 4 6

Wardwell 1 2 1 2 3 Quirion 2 7 0 0 5

Totals 23 43 18 28 64 Totals 21 67 8 17 56

Bucksport 20 35 50 64

Winslow 17 27 41 56

3-pt. goals: Bucksport (0-3): Downes 0-3; Winslow (6-24): Bard 5-13, Ferran 0-6, Quirion 1-5