AUGUSTA – It’s been three years since the Cony girls basketball team found itself with a deficit at halftime.

And the famously intense coach Paul Vachon wasn’t even too mad at his team during halftime of Monday afternoon’s KVAC crossover matchup against Bangor.

“He told us it was our game if we could pick up the intensity,” said junior forward Kristi Violette. “And we did.”

Cony erased a five-point deficit in the first two minutes of the third, thanks in part to Violette’s efforts, and pulled away in the fourth to earn a 53-41 win over Bangor.

Cony, the defending Class A state champion, won its 11th of the season and 29th game in a row. Cony hasn’t lost since the 2004 state-title game.

After winning eight in a row, Bangor has now lost two straight but looks to get back on track against Mt. Blue of Farmington Friday night.

There were 12 lead changes in the first half Monday, including a Kelsey Curtis offensive-rebound putback that gave Bangor an 18-17 edge with 3:45 left in the second quarter. She also hit a free throw to complete a 3-point play. Ilyse Angst followed with a 3-point shot and Noelle Lincoln finished off an 8-0 run Bangor with a 14-foot jumper.

Bangor had a 26-21 advantage at halftime but the lead didn’t last.

Violette scored twice in the first 37 seconds of the third quarter, and Rachael Mack put in a basket off a pass from Cassie Cooper to give Cony the lead. Bangor briefly tied it on an Amy Hackett free throw, but Violette’s putback with about 5:30 left made it 29-27.

Violette scored twice more, hitting all five of her field-goal attempts in the quarter for 11 of her 13 points. She said it took Cony a while to get used to Bangor’s 1-3-1 zone, which Cony hasn’t played against all year.

“We wanted to come out and get an early jump on things,” Violette added. “We saw a lot more in the paint in the second half. And we wanted to get out and run, and when we do that nobody can stop us.”

Bangor looked rushed in the third, managing just two field goals on 11 attempts in the third. Cony had a 17-9 scoring edge in the fourth.

“I thought at the beginning of the second half our shot selection was poor and they picked up the intensity,” Bangor coach Tom Tennett said. “We didn’t get back on defense as well as we had to.”

Bangor had nine turnovers in the second half, an improvement over 14 in the first.

Bangor held 6-foot-2 standout Cooper to seven points, but she had 12 rebounds and nine assists. Mack scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Shelby Pelkey came off the bench to contribute 11 points.

“I’m very proud of the way they came back,” Vachon said. “Bangor’s a good team and we were able to make them do some different things in the second half.”

Curtis led Bangor with 14 points and nine rebounds. Forward Serena Dubois had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

CONY RAMS 53, BANGOR RAMS 41

Bangor (8-3) Cony (11-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Angst 1 9 0 0 3 White 2 8 9

Heath 0 1 0 0 0 Cheever 0 0 0

A. Hackett 0 2 3 4 3 Rende 0 7 0

Smith 1 2 0 0 2 Cooper 3 10 7

Lincoln 1 2 0 0 2 Mack 6 10 13

Wadleigh 0 3 0 0 0 H. Pratt 0 0

Dubois 5 12 1 1 11 Pelkey 3 6 11

Curtis 3 7 8 11 14 Violette 6 13

Clukey 0 0 0 0 0

Godinez 3 7 0 0 6

Totals 14 45 12 16 41 Totals 20 49 11 23 53

Bangor 10 26 32 41

Cony 11 21 36 53

3-pt. goals – Bangor (1-7): Angst 1-3, Heath 0-1, Lincoln 0-1, Wadleigh 0-2; Cony (2-13): White 1-3, Pelkey 1-2, Rende 0-3, Cooper 0-5

JV: Cony 45-33

Attendance: 350 (est.)