BANGOR – For the past two years Shelley Gott has been a standout player for the Mount Desert Island girls basketball team – as an off-guard.

On Wednesday night against Bangor, the Trojans needed Gott more than ever – this time as a point guard.

The junior filled in admirably when backup point guard Kara Horton was injured in the first quarter. Gott poured in 25 points and led MDI to a 59-51 victory at Red Barry Gymnasium.

The defending Eastern Maine champion Trojans, now 4-0, were already without starting point guard Bracey Braker, a 6-foot-1 junior standout who was out with strep throat. Horton, the backup, went down with 4:02 left in the first quarter.

“I was surprised, with two of our good players out,” said senior forward Tanya Kane, who scored 23 points, including 11 in the first quarter. “We pulled together and we played a lot better than I thought we would.”

Without an another experienced point guard, MDI coach Burt Barker (Bracey’s father) turned to Gott, who hasn’t handled the ball or run the offense regularly.

Barker was thrilled with her performance Wednesday and was pleased with the minutes Abby Willson played off the bench (Willson came in when Horton went out).

“If somebody said Bracey wouldn’t be able to play against Bangor and our backup point guard would sprain her ankle, and we win, I’d say that’s a tall order,” he said. “But we came to the front and played well. We had a good effort from a lot of people.”

Without Bracey Barker, the Trojans faced a height disadvantage against the Rams. MDI countered with a 2-3 zone that forced Bangor forwards Katherine Miller (5-11) and Sarah Michaud (5-10) of Bangor to fight for nearly every shot they took. Bangor’s guards struggled to get the ball inside.

“We’ve been playing our defense really well lately and it worked out today,” Kane said.

Leaving Bangor’s 3-point shooters open was a risky move, but the Rams went 4-for-17 from long range.

The Trojans also played a pressure defense, which forced Bangor into turnovers.

The Rams pressed, too, and they were most effective when they were able to convert MDI’s turnovers. The Trojans led 32-30 at one point in the third quarter but Bangor tied it up when Amanda Johnson converted a Ram steal, and the Rams regained the advantage when Miller laid up a steal of her own.

But MDI stayed close as Bangor missed some open shots and turned the ball over – sometimes immediately after forcing a Trojan turnover.

“We didn’t convert very well when we did force turnovers and that was really key, especially when we had a couple of runs going and had a couple of opportunities,” Bangor coach Tom Tennett said.

The Rams did take a 47-42 lead in the fourth quarter but the Trojans got back into the game thanks to defense and clutch free-throw shooting. MDI was in the bonus with 5:26 left in the game and made 13 of their 21 attempts from the line. Gott went 12-of-14 overall.

TROJANS 59, RAMS 51

MDI (4-0) Bangor (0-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Boisvert 0 1 0 0 0 Magee 6 17 14

Gordius 0 1 1 2 1 Tower 0 4 0

Joy 0 5 2 4 2 Clarke 3 6 0 6

Horton 0 1 0 0 0 McLeod 0 2 0

Joseph 0 2 1 2 1 Miller 5 14 11

Willson 0 4 2 6 2 McCrum 2 2 5

Gott 6 13 12 14 25 Johnson 3 10 0 7

Kane 9 12 5 9 23 Hayden 0 1 0 0

Norwood 2 2 0 1 5 Michaud 2 7 5

Woodcock 1 3 3

Robertson 0 0 0

McAllian 0 1 0

Totals 17 41 23 38 59 22 67 51

MDI 20 28 40 59

Bangor 15 27 41 51

3-pt. goals: MDI (2-8): Norwood 1-1, Gott 1-5, Horton 0-1, Boisvert 0-1; Bangor (4-17): Magee 2-8, Woodcock 1-2, Johnson 1-6, Tower 0-1

Attendance: 200 (est.)

Preliminary: Bangor 48-32