BANGOR – For five straight games against Hampden, the Bangor girls basketball team has tried to figure out some way – any way – to top the Broncos.

As it turned out, there was no single answer. The solution was more like the SAT: multiple choice, and complicated.

On Monday night, the Rams shrugged off their own personal purple jinx, handed in their test papers, and walked away with a 69-65 victory over the Broncos in a pointworthy Class A showdown at Red Barry Gym.

Bangor and Hampden, ranked No. 6 and No. 5 in the latest Heal Points, are both 6-3.

The Rams trailed by as much as nine in the second half, but surged to a 57-54 lead two minutes into the fourth and held on for the win.

As it turned out, the Rams needed four things to top the Broncos, and got them all:

A superior defensive effort on senior guard Amy-Jo Crawford.

The answer was Kori Dionne, who hounded Crawford in diamond-and-one and box-and-one sets in the halfcourt, and shadowed her alone when the Rams unleashed its fullcourt pressure.

Crawford was steady and was still a nuisance, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. But she only managed six shots.

A solid second-half inside presence from its post players, especially after the Broncos attacked the glass early on to the tune of a 12-2 first-quarter rebounding edge.

“We just challenged our kids at halftime,” Bangor coach Tom Tennett said. “We thought the difference in the game at halftime was they were getting a lot of second shots.”

The result was a 22-18 rebounding edge in the second half.

“I think we played poor really poor defense underneath and didn’t take care of the boards,” Hampden coach Kimberly Haggan said.

Bangor’s 6-foot-2 senior Jennifer Harriman finished with 19 points, 6-1 Kara Crockett contributed 11 points, and freshman Alison Smith scored eight and grabbed eight boards.

A strong night from senior guard Emily Morse.

Morse scored 17 points despite Crawford’s efforts to stop her.

And someone – anyone – to spark a crucial run.

Freshman Jlynn Frazier was up to that task, as she strapped the Rams to her back for a wild fourth-quarter ride that provided Bangor its first lead of the game.

Frazier scored all eight of her points in the fourth – including seven of Bangor’s first 10 in a pivotal 10-2 spurt that took only 1:54.

She also came up with a couple of steals, an offensive rebound and handed out an assist during the melee. When Frazier finished the flurry, the Rams were up 57-54 with 6:06 to go.

“J took over the game,” Morse said. “Without that, we don’t know what would have happened.”

Harriman gave the Rams the lead for good when she scored on a putback with 1:50 to go that made it 65-63. After forcing a turnover in the backcourt on the ensuing possession, Bangor spread the court and Smith took advantage of the gambling defense by driving down the lane and scoring with 1:10 left.

Amanda Rodgerson paced three Broncos in double figures with 23 points. Kristy Ross pitched in with 10 points.

Despite grabbing 12 rebounds of her own, Rodgerson was quick to take part of the blame for the loss.

“We didn’t win the boards,” she said. “That was the biggest thing. Them getting so many shots at the basket.”

Rams 69, Broncos 65

Hampden (6-3) Bangor (6-3)

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

Crawford 4 6 3 5 11 Dionne 1 3 0 0 2

Ross 5 13 0 0 10 Strout 2 3 0 0 4

Rodgerson 8 11 7 7 23 Wells 0 0 0 0 0

Estey 0 0 0 0 0 Morse 7 20 0 2 17

Smith 1 10 1 2 3 Frazier 3 7 2 4 8

O’Donnell 3 4 1 5 7 Wright 0 1 0 0 0

Baeza-Miller 3 7 0 0 6 Smith 4 11 0 2 8

Oliver 1 1 0 0 2 Crockett 3 5 5 5 11

Paine 0 1 0 0 0 Harriman 7 11 5 10 19

Peet 1 3 1 2 3

Totals 26 56 13 21 65 Totals 27 61 12 23 69

Hampden 23 41 52 65

Bangor 18 35 57 69

3-pt. goals: Hampden (0-6): Crawford 0-2, Ross 0-1, Smith 0-3; Bangor (3-7): Morse 3-7

Attendance: 200 (est)