Bangor’s FTs, ‘D’ key in fourth Rams beat Old Town for ninth straight win

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OLD TOWN – Bangor girls basketball coach Tom Tennett made sure his team knew one thing before Monday night’s game against Old Town.

“Coach tells us the hardest games to win are the ones coming off of big wins,” senior Laura Clarke said.

The Indians certainly made it tough for the Rams, who conceded that knocking off one of the top teams in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Friday night may have gotten to them during Monday’s Big East Conference matchup against the Indians.

But late free-throw shooting and defense down the stretch helped Bangor survive Old Town 52-42 at MacKenzie Gymnasium.

The Rams, now 11-1, are riding a nine-game winning streak. The Indians fall to 3-8.

Bangor beat Gardiner 64-55 Friday in a huge win for the Rams, who looked strong early Monday as they took a 16-5 lead over the Indians at the end of the first quarter.

Bangor’s offense slowed down in the second quarter – they didn’t get on the board until Erin Porter put in an inbounds pass from Ilyse Angst with 3:16 left in the period – but a 7-0 run in the final 1:30 of the quarter helped the Rams to a 15-point halftime lead.

The Rams were still ahead by 12 points midway through the third when Katie Bergeron sparked the Indians. She drove inside for a basket and drained a 3-pointer in Old Town’s next possession. Porter got it back to a 10-point lead when she hit a 3-pointer, but the Indians scored seven unanswered points, a run that lasted until Clarke made two free throws after the buzzer sounded. Bangor’s lead was down to five.

“We came in on a mental high and a physical high after that game and I think we panicked a lot,” said Caroline Weymouth, who scored nine points, including two key free throws late.

The teams traded baskets early in the fourth quarter and the Rams had a 42-35 lead when Bergeron scored off a steal, Kristi Mitchell hit a free throw, and then made two more almost two minutes later to cut Bangor’s lead to two points.

The Rams turned up their defensive intensity and let the Indians foul. Seconds after Mitchell’s two free throws, Clarke made two of her own for a four-point lead, and Angst scored off an Old Town turnover to make it 46-40.

Two Bergeron free throws made it a four-point game again, but Clarke forced two turnovers in the final minute – one of which resulted in two Weymouth free throws and the other which Clarke got to Angst for another basket.

“We just had to settle down a little bit,” said Weymouth. “We came out and we wanted it.”

Angst finished with a team-high 13 points and Serena Dubois added 12.

Dubois also had 13 rebounds and Clarke added six. Leona Mitchell led Old Town with nine boards and Bergeron, who scored 13 points, chipped in with six.

Neither team looked totally sharp, and the Rams and Indians combined for 45 turnovers.

“I thought they made a lot of mistakes that we forced,” Old Town coach Ron Weatherbee said. “I thought we played decent defense. Overall I was very pleased, other than getting down by 12, 14, 16.”

RAMS 52, INDIANS 42

Bangor (11-1) Old Town (3-8)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Ogden 1 5 0 2 2 K. Bergeron 5 12 2 3 13

Angst 4 8 4 4 13 Marquis 0 4 0

Porter 2 4 0 0 5 Jones 2 4 5

Clarke 2 7 7 8 11 Spencer 1 3 5

McAllian 0 0 0 0 0 Reardon 0 9 3

Weymouth 3 10 2 2 9 K. Mitchell 1 7

Curtis 0 1 0 0 0 L. Mitchell 3 11 3 4 9

Dubois 6 13 0 3 12 Kennedy 0 0 0

Totals 18 48 13 19 52 12 49 16 22 42

Bangor 16 27 38 52

Old Town 5 12 33 42

3-pt. goals ? Bangor (3-8): Porter 1-1, Weymouth 1-3, Angst 1-3, Clarke 0-1; Old Town (2-13): Spencer 1-3, K. Bergeron 1-4, Kennedy 0-3, Reardon 0-2, Marquis 0-1

Attendance: 200 (est.)

JV: Bangor 67-40