BANGOR – The final 1 1/2 minutes of the third quarter between Bangor and Brewer seemed to epitomize the way things went for both teams in Tuesday night’s girls basketball matchup at the Bangor Auditorium.

The Witches got a spark from a 3-pointer, cutting the Rams’ lead to 10 points. But Brewer missed two free throws and Bangor came storming back, scoring twice off Brewer turnovers and making another basket for six points in a 30-second span – and a 16-point lead at the buzzer.

Bangor’s defense was just too much for Brewer to handle in the rest of the game, too, as the Rams forced 21 turnovers in the first three quarters en route to a 51-32 win over the Witches.

Senior guard Erin Porter led another balanced Bangor scoring effort with 12 points as the Rams, who were No. 1 in the Eastern Maine Class A Heal Point standings released Tuesday, move to 9-1.

Defense has been key for Bangor this year, and it was no different Tuesday night.

“I think our intensity was really good and we hustled really well,” Porter said. “We got back and picked off a lot of passes.”

The Witches (2-7) had eight turnovers in the first quarter and seemed to settle down a bit in the second as they only lost the ball four times. But 10 more turnovers in the third quarter made it hard for Brewer to rally.

The Rams played a 1-3-1 zone, but it was the zone press that really affected the Witches.

“We got rattled and we didn’t keep our focus,” Brewer coach Mark Savage said. “They played harder and they wanted the ball more. They took it away from us.”

Bangor had just a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but reeled off a 10-0-run that lasted about five minutes to take a 21-6 lead. Brewer’s Katie Quimby ended the run with a 3-pointer, but Bangor’s Kelsey Curtis responded with a putback, two of her 10 points in the game.

“Brewer did a good job, every time we would get a 13-, 15-point lead they would make a run and come back to keep it close,” Bangor coach Tom Tennett said.

Five other players scored at least three points for the Rams, who also displayed balanced rebounding with Caroline Weymouth’s eight leading Bangor. Seven other players had at least three rebounds. Alyssa Ogden scored on two offensive rebounds in a row during the first quarter to help establish the Rams inside.

Bangor tried to extend its zone out on Quimby, a good shooter who finished with a game-high 13 points, including that 3-pointer 1:30 left in the third quarter. Weymouth, who had been quiet early in the game, scored on two steals in a row after Quimby’s shot. Bangor’s Amy Hackett followed with a basket off a pass from Porter with about 10 seconds left.

“Caroline had some really good runs and we had some good possessions that put us up,” Curtis said. “It was kind of close and we needed to put it away.”

The Witches did draw five Bangor offensive fouls.

“I was very pleased with that,” Savage said. “We played pretty good position. That’s a plus.”

RAMS 51, WITCHES 32

Brewer (2-7) Bangor (9-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Quimby 5 17 0 2 13 Ogden 2 4 4

Defilipp 1 4 1 2 3 Angst 4 8 8

Hutchins 1 4 0 0 2 Porter 5 12 12

Cote 3 9 0 0 6 Heath 0 0 0 0

York 0 4 0 0 0 Hackett 2 7 3 7

Corey 0 4 2 4 2 Smith 0 0 0

Sasaki 0 0 0 0 0 Lincoln 0 1 0

Dickey 0 0 0 0 0 Weymouth 2 6

Hrkns-Kmbll 0 0 0 0 0 Webb 0 0 0

McLain 1 2 2 2 4 Wadleigh 0 1

Kenney 1 5 0 1 2 Dubois 1 5 3

Curtis 4 6 2 10

Clukey 0 0 0 0

Haun 0 0 0 0

Godinez 0 0 0 0

Totals 12 49 5 11 32 20 51 10 24 51

Brewer 4 14 24 32

Bangor 9 25 40 51

3-pt. goals – Brewer (3-16): Quimby 3-8, Defilipp 0-1, Cote 0-1, Hutchins 0-2, York 0-4; Bangor (1-8): Porter 1-3, Hackett 0-1, Lincoln 0-1, Weymouth 0-1, Angst 0-2

JV: Bangor 35-23

Attendance: 200 (est.)