BREWER – Thursday’s Big East Conference matchup between Bangor and Brewer was halted briefly because of a power outage at the Brewer High gym.

Once the lights came back on, the Rams’ defense took care of shutting down the Witches from there in a 41-32 victory Thursday night.

Caroline Weymouth powered a well-rounded Bangor scoring effort with 13 points and the Rams, now 2-0, forced 23 Brewer turnovers.

“Defense was key because we struggled a bit getting going offensively and we were in foul trouble,” said Bangor junior Ilyse Angst, who scored five of her nine points on two key third-quarter baskets. “But when we needed to we stepped up big and got big steals.”

Brewer goes to 0-2.

The cross-river rivals played the first half close – Bangor’s biggest lead in the first two quarters was just four points – and the teams were tied three times in the first 131/2 minutes of play.

The Witches took a lead late in the second when Elizabeth Cote hit a baseline jumper to make it 16-14, but the Rams reeled off a 6-0 run for the four-point halftime lead.

Brewer continued to battle after halftime but Bangor went to a zone press, forced six third-quarter turnovers, and extended its lead when Angst drained a 3-pointer followed by a jumper in the lane for a nine-point edge.

“We put a lot of pressure on the ball, it created a lot of turnovers and we converted, which made it a lot better because we weren’t getting shots in our offense,” Angst said.

Later in the third quarter, still enjoying a nine-point lead, dangerous shooter Amanda Webb hit a 3-pointer to put the Rams up 33-20 with about 50 seconds left in the period.

“That’s just some of our inexperience of actually being in a game at the end of it,” Brewer coach Mark Savage said. “We have to settle down and know that we can win those kind of games.”

The Witches had a chance late in the fourth quarter as Quimby made a jumper and two free throws to cut Bangor’s lead to 39-32, but two turnovers in the final 1:37 and a Weymouth basket put the game out of reach.

“She’s a really good player,” said Angst, who guarded Quimby. “We had to stop her, because if she gets going the whole team will feed off her. If we can shut her down it takes a big part of their offense away.”

That Bangor was able to stay ahead and close out the win was also a testament to the play of senior Alyssa Ogden and sophomore Tawnya Godinez, who came off the bench when Serena Dubois got into foul trouble early in the first half.

“My role was to come off the bench and play good defense, stop some players, and I think I did that tonight,” said Ogden, who helped guard McLain.

Bangor fouls put Brewer in the bonus with 41 seconds left in the first quarter, but the Witches went 1-for-4 from there.

The Witches played tough defense, too, in keeping the much taller Rams from getting inside too often. Brewer had a 39-32 rebounding edge and Bangor had 17 turnovers.

“I think they equalized,” Savage said of Brewer post defenders Katie Kenney, Anna Corey and McLain. “We were a little concerned with [Bangor’s] play but we have a lot of confidence in our players.”

Brewer athletic director Dennis Kiah said he wasn’t sure why the gym lights went off, but the game was delayed for only about five minutes.

Cote topped Brewer with 12 points.

RAMS 41, WITCHES 32

Bangor (2-0) Brewer (0-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Ogden 1 2 0 0 2 Quimby 3 7 9

Angst 3 10 2 2 9 DeFilipp 0 0

Porter 1 4 1 2 3 Hutchins 0 0

Heath 0 1 0 1 0 Cote 4 6 12

Hackett 1 2 0 0 2 York 0 4 0

Smith 0 0 0 0 0 Corey 1 5 2

Weymouth 4 16 5 9 13 McLain 1 8 7

Webb 1 2 0 0 3 Kenney 1 2 0 2

Dubois 2 5 1 4 5

Curtis 1 4 0 3 2

Godinez 1 1 0 0 2

Totals 15 47 9 21 41 Totals 10 34 12 24 32

Bangor 9 20 33 41

Brewer 7 16 22 32

3-pt. goals – Bangor (2-6): Angst 1-3, Webb 1-1, Weymouth 0-2; Brewer (0-4): Quimby 0-2, York 0-2

JV: Bangor 49-21

Attendance: 300 (est.)