BANGOR – Her task is fairly simple. Come off the bench, hustle, and try to make something happen on defense.

Sophomore guard Allie Clukey did that and then some Thursday night at Red Barry Gymnasium to help lead her Bangor Rams to a 45-43 basketball victory over Nokomis of Newport.

“I just play defense and sometimes some good things work out,” said Clukey, who had seven points, two steals, a rebound and an assist – all after entering the game in the second half. “Coach tells me to try to get a steal and take it to the big people to get fouls and foul shots.”

Well, she delivered on the steals, but she did it so well she never had a chance to get it to the “big people” because she was able to turn both into instant points via layups.

The first came with 2:47 left in the third quarter, but it was the second steal that may have been the play of the game. With Bangor up 33-28 and Nokomis holding the ball for a last shot with 50 seconds left in the third, Clukey made her move with three ticks left, swiped the ball, drove the length of the court, and scored at the buzzer.

“We underestimated her quickness and I’m not sure there’s another player on the floor who can turn that into a clean layup,” said Nokomis coach Earl Anderson, whose Warriors dip to 6-7. “Instead of getting the last shot and possibly scoring, we had a turnover and a layup at the buzzer for them. That was a back-breaker.”

Still, the Warriors were able to make it a game late, even after they looked dead and buried at least five different times in the final 31/2 minutes.

After (surprise) Clukey put the Rams up 39-30 with an off-balance throw-in from the left block on a dead run with 2:22 to go, things changed. Nokomis started fouling, Bangor continued missing from the line, and the Warriors cranked up their outside shooting.

“It would have made it a lot easier if we had made some foul shots, but give them credit, they made their 3’s late to make us sweat this out,” said coach Tom Tennett, whose Rams improve to 10-4.

Instead, the Rams missed two straight 1-and-1’s and three of seven free throws while the Warriors canned two foul shots and three 3-pointers in a two-minute span to make it 42-41 Bangor with 20 seconds left.

Rather than tire out against Bangor’s halfcourt trap and man-to-man defense, the Warriors seemed to gain steam in the final quarter.

“What we were hoping is we’d run them and maybe they’d be tired in the fourth quarter, but I think they got some kind of spurt late,” said Tennett. “I think us missing foul shots rejuvenated them.”

Fortunately for Bangor, that trend reversed the rest of the way as Ilyse Angst hit two free throws and Amy Hackett one of two between a putback by Nokomis’ Tatum Welch (12 points, seven rebounds).

Nokomis had a chance for a final shot after Hackett’s miss with three seconds left, but Kelley Paradis’ halfcourt heave at the buzzer fell short.

Tawnya Godinez led the Rams with 10 points, Serena Dubois had 14 rebounds, and Kelsey Curtis contributed nine points and five boards.

RAMS 45, WARRIORS 43

Nokomis (6-7) Bangor (10-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Paradis 4 12 0 0 9 Angst 1 4 4 6 6

Fournier 0 1 0 0 0 Heath 0 0 0 0 0

Petersen 1 5 0 2 2 A.Hackett 3 5 1 3 7

Al. Bragdn 3 8 0 0 9 Smith 0 2 0 0 0

Wyman 0 0 0 0 0 Lincoln 0 0 0 0 0

Cooper 2 10 0 0 6 Wadleigh 1 2 0 0 2

As. Bragdn 2 7 1 1 5 Dubois 1 7 2 6 4

Welch 4 4 4 6 12 Curtis 3 4 3 4 9

Clukey 3 5 1 4 7

Godinez 5 6 0 0 10

Totals 16 47 5 9 43 Totals 17 35 11 23 45

Nokomis 7 18 28 43

Bangor 15 22 33 45

3-pt. goals – Nokomis (6-20): Al. Bragdon 3-5, Cooper 2-7, Paradis 1-7, As. Bragdon 0-1

JV: Bangor 45-28

Attendance: 150 (est.)