NEWPORT – The last time the Bangor and Nokomis girls basketball teams faced each other, the Warriors upset the Rams in the quarterfinals Eastern Maine Class A tournament last March.

So you can imagine what the pregame huddle was like for Bangor as the two teams met Tuesday night for the first time this season.

“Going into it we were like, remember what happened last time we played these guys,” said Ram senior Kelsey Curtis, who played in last year’s tourney game. “We went into it with that mindset.”

The Rams gained a measure of revenge, outpacing the Warriors in the second half to rally for a 43-35 victory at the high school gym.

Nokomis (2-2) was without starting forward Alyssa Bragdon, who tweaked a knee injury last Saturday and sat out Tuesday’s game. That left the Warriors with just six regular players, and their fatigue showed late as Bangor (2-1) rotated 10 players in and out.

“They don’t like to go deep into their bench so if we got them running we could get them tired,” Bangor senior Ilyse Angst said. “That showed in the second half. I don’t think they hit very many [3-pointers] and even towards the end when they were looking for them, they didn’t have any legs.”

The Warriors had a 23-20 lead at halftime but the Rams peeled off seven unanswered points. Curtis, who led the Rams with nine points, sparked the run with an offensive-rebound putback. She drew a foul on the play and made the free throw to tie the game, and then Amy Hackett scored two straight baskets for a 27-23 lead.

After a Nokomis timeout, Angst made two free throws – Bangor went 20-for-29 from the line overall – and the Rams maintained at least a five-point lead the rest of the way.

The game got frenetic at times as Bangor tried to wear down Nokomis, especially with a zone press defense and 1-3-1 in the half-court. The Warriors didn’t turn the ball over on any 10-second calls, but they looked hassled at times in the backcourt.

Nokomis was also forced into a lot of long-range shots that clanged off the rim.

“We got fatigued,” Nokomis coach Earl Anderson said. “No excuses, but we just didn’t get it done. We played well early but we couldn’t make a shot late. If somebody makes a shot, maybe we get over the hump.”

Nokomis also got into a bit of foul trouble. Center Tatum Welch picked up her fourth foul at the end of the third quarter and Bangor went into the bonus late in the third.

Neither team got a lot of offense from their post players, although Curtis and Serena Dubois combined to go 13-for-17 from the free-throw line. They helped hold Welch to six points.

“We knew they had good post players so we couldn’t foul, we had to keep our feet planted and be straight up all the time,” Curtis said.

Teresa Cooper led Nokomis with 12 points, including eight in a 12-0 first-quarter run. The Warriors led 16-11 after the first period.

The Rams went into their zone press and held the Warriors to seven points in the second quarter, and capped the period with a Dubois basket off a steal with seven seconds left.

RAMS 43, WARRIORS 35

Bangor (2-1) Nokomis (2-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Angst 1 5 3 5 5 Paradis 1 10 4

Heath 0 1 0 0 0 Fournier 0 0

A. Hackett 3 7 0 0 6 Peterson 3 8

Smith 1 3 2 3 4 Wyman 0 0 0

Lincoln 2 6 0 0 5 Cooper 5 10 12

Wadleigh 0 0 0 0 0 As. Brgdn 1 5

Dubois 1 4 6 8 8 Welch 2 2 6

Curtis 1 3 7 9 9

Clukey 2 2 1 2 5

Godinez 0 1 1 2 1

Totals 11 32 20 29 43 12 39 10 35

Bangor 11 20 35 43

Nokomis 16 23 27 35

3-pt. goals – Bangor (1-5): Lincoln 1-4, Angst 0-1; Nokomis (3-13): Cooper 2-3, As. Bragdon 1-4, Peterson 0-2, Paradis 0-4

JV: Bangor 45-34

Attendance: 250 (est.)