BREWER – The Bangor High girls basketball team made their debut as the top squad in Eastern Maine Class A Tuesday evening.

And although things didn’t go smoothly, the Rams still walked away with a win over rival Brewer.

Playing against a tough zone defense, Bangor guards Ilyse Angst and Noelle Lincoln made enough shots to hold off the Witches in a 45-34 victory at the high school gym.

After a forgettable first half, junior Lincoln hit two 3-pointers in a row en route to eight points in the third quarter and 11 overall.

Angst, who had an eight-point quarter of her own and four key free throws in the fourth quarter, provided a game-high 12 points as Bangor improved to 8-1.

“We definitely struggled but things are coming slowly,” said Angst, the senior point guard. “It’s tough when you have a bad night shooting because you relay on that against a zone. But Noelle started a huge run for us and we got the shots that we needed.”

The Rams, who sit atop the Heal point standings this week, will try for their ninth straight win against Skowhegan Friday night. The Indians beat Bangor 54-47 in the season-opener.

Skowhegan was 7-1 before Tuesday’s game against No. 4 Mt. Blue of Farmington.

Brewer falls to 4-5.

The Witches played zone defense the entire game, and it was an effective way to shut down the height advantage Bangor’s post players enjoyed.

Nothing came easy for the Rams inside, and they had some turnovers trying to force the ball into the post.

“Instead of waiting for them to get open I think we tried to make the spectacular play, and it just wasn’t there,” Angst said.

The zone meant Lincoln was open for perimeter shots, but she went 1-for-6 in the first half.

Angst tried to cheer her up before the start of the third quarter – sharing funny stories about the Harry Potter book series – as the Rams tried to stretch their five-point lead.

“She told me to keep my head up and keep shooting, because obviously I wasn’t shooting well,” Lincoln said. “I came around and got my head into it. And it worked.”

After two Kelsey Curtis free-throws, Lincoln drained her first shot of the period, a 3-pointer from the left side. Thirty-seven seconds later she hit another one.

Brewer coach Andy Nickerson called a timeout, but that didn’t quite cool down Lincoln. She drove inside for her third straight basket and a 33-18 lead.

“We tried to keep matching up on our shooters but the [Brewer] kids probably got a little tired at different times,” Nickerson said. “They’re good players, and they’re going to make their shots. [Angst and Lincoln] are good shooters. They made more than we wanted them to.”

The Witches tried to cut into Bangor’s lead in the fourth. A Leah Jackson jumper cut the lead to six points, but Bangor made 6 of 8 free-throw attempts in the final 1:14.

Bangor started the game in man-to-man, but switched to zone press in the second quarter. The press didn’t seem to rattle the Witches.

“I’m very proud of my kids,” Nickerson said. “They played hard and they had their backs against the wall from the start.”

Elizabeth Cote led Brewer with 10 points.

The Witches were without forwards Katie Kenney, who is sick, and Jordan McLain, who sat out the game because she missed several games while attending a softball camp in Hawaii.

RAMS 45, WITCHES 34

Bangor (8-1) Brewer (4-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Angst 3 7 4 5 12 Quimby 3 12 6

Heath 0 0 0 0 0 Wilson 3 10 8

A. Hackett 2 11 0 2 4 Cote 4 8 10

Smith 0 1 0 0 0 Gomm 0 1 0

Lincoln 4 13 0 0 11 Jackson 3 4 7

Wadleigh 1 5 0 0 2 M.McLain 1 10 0 1 3

Dubois 2 3 2 4 6 Seymour 0 0 0

Curtis 1 4 2 2 4

Clukey 0 1 0 0 0

Godinez 3 6 0 0 6

Totals 16 51 8 13 45 Totals 14 45 34

Bangor 11 23 35 45

Brewer 5 18 22 34

3-pt. goals – Bangor (5-14): Lincoln 3-9, Angst 2-3, A. Hackett 0-2; Brewer (2-12): Wilson 1-2, M. McLain 1-3, Cote 0-1, Quimby 0-6

JV: Bangor 40-32

Attendance: 300 (est.)