AUGUSTA – The move of the Eastern Maine Class A basketball tournament from Bangor to the Augusta Civic Center isn’t just about a new travel destination.

For many teams with little experience playing here, there’s a quieter atmosphere than what is found in the Bangor Auditorium, not to mention physical differences surrounding the court itself.

It took the Bangor girls basketball team the first half to adapt to a significant difference in depth perception behind the baskets, but once it did the Rams rolled to a 65-32 regional quarterfinal victory over Messalonskee of Oakland on Friday night.

The win advances No. 4 Bangor (15-5) to a 3:30 p.m. semifinal Wednesday against No. 1 Cony of Augusta, which mounted a last-minute rally for a 54-52 overtime victory over No. 9 Nokomis of Newport.

The Rams’ shooting adjustment was most noticeable on the free-throw line, where Bangor made only 1 of 10 attempts in the first half but went 20 of 22 after intermission.

“We’re not used to the depth behind the backboards,” said senior center Kelsey Curtis, who scored 19 points – including 11 of 14 from the line – and grabbed 15 rebounds. “That was a harsh adjustment, but once we got that down, it calmed our nerves and they became automatic.”

Bangor also outrebounded No. 5 Messalonskee 42-20, relegating the Eagles’ offense to a perimeter attack featuring twins Chelsea and Amanda Barker. Chelsea Barker scored a team-high 13 points, but the Eagles overall shot 27 percent from the field.

“Defensively we wanted to focus on the twins, because we knew those were the two players we wanted to keep the ball away from,” said Bangor sophomore guard Amy Hackett. “By taking away Chelsea and Amanda as much as we could, it made it easier on the rest of us defensively.”

Senior Serena Dubois complemented Curtis’ efforts up front, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Tawnya Godinez added nine points, while Hackett scored eight and senior point guard Ilyse Angst had five points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Curtis scored 14 points in the second half, when Bangor pulled away after Messalonskee crept within two points on three occasions. The last time came at 30-28 with 4:03 left in the third quarter on a drive by junior guard Ashley Busque.

But Bangor outscored the 14-6 Eagles 35-4 the rest of the way, initially closing out the quarter with an 8-1 run as Curtis worked inside for four free throws and Dubois took a steal in for a layup and added two free throws after being fouled on a fast break.

“I just thought the girls played super in the second half,” said Bangor coach Tom Tennett. “We were a little nervous in the first half, but in the second half, we played real well.”

Bangor held a 24-16 halftime lead despite poor free-throw shooting thanks to a dominant rebounding effort – the Rams outrebounded Messalonskee 24-13 over the game’s first 16 minutes, including 14 offensive rebounds.

The Rams had seven offensive rebounds in the game’s first three minutes, five by Dubois, and used that to take a 10-4 edge and force an early Messalonskee timeout.

Godinez followed with a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 13-4 with 2:57 left in the opening period.

Messalonskee countered with a 6-0 run as Bangor had some difficulty with the Eagles’ defensive pressure and Chelsea Barker began to find success with dribble penetration.

Messalonskee drew as close as three points twice in the second quarter, the last time at 15-12 on two free throws by Amanda Barker with 4:57 left.

But Bangor’s Noelle Lincoln came off the bench and immediately hit a 3-pointer, and Angst followed a Curtis free throw with another 3-pointer, and when Amy Wadleigh added a jumper from the right win, the Rams’ lead was up to 24-14 with 1:20 left in the half.

“We thought we should have been up 14 to 18 points at halftime,” said Tennett. “You feel bad that you don’t have the good lead, but by the same token, we knew we’re playing pretty well and it was a matter of time, especially with the 1-for-10 from the line.”

RAMS 65, EAGLES 32

Messalonskee (14-6) Bangor (15-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

C. Barker 5 11 3 4 13 B.Hackett 0 0

Busque 1 4 2 4 4 Angst 1 8 5

A. Barker 1 13 2 2 4 Dana 0 0 0

Stuart 0 1 0 0 0 Heath 0 3 0

LaBelle 0 1 0 0 0 A.Hackett 3 8

Oliver 2 5 2 4 6 Smith 0 0 0

Bridges 0 1 0 0 0 Lincoln 1 3 3

Perry 1 1 0 1 2 Bisacre 1 1 2

M. Haiss 0 0 0 0 0 Wadleigh 1 2

Duren 1 2 1 2 3 Dubois 3 6 12

S. Haiss 0 0 0 0 0 Curtis 4 7 11 14 19

Rodrigue 0 2 0 0 0 Clukey 2 4 5

Godinez 4 12 0 9

Totals 11 41 10 17 32 Totals 20 56 21 32 65

Messalonskee 7 16 29 32

Bangor 13 24 38 65

3-pt. goals – Messalonskee (0-10): LaBelle 0-1, C. Barker 0-2, Rodrigue 0-2, A. Barker 0-5; Bangor (4-9): Lincoln 1-1, Angst 1-2, Clukey 1-2, Godinez 1-3, Heath 0-1

In the late game, defending state champion Cony mounted a remarkable last-minute comeback against the Warriors.

The unbeaten Rams had gone scoreless for the first four minutes of overtime, with Nokomis running off six straight points to take a 52-46 lead on a free throw by sophomore point guard Kelly Paradis with 1:10 remaining.

But suddenly Cony’s offense came to life. Rachel Mack was fouled while scoring on a followup shot with 58 seconds left. When she missed the free throw, teammate Cassie Cooper grabbed the rebound and fed Monica White for a jumper that pulled the Rams within 52-50 with 48 seconds remaining.

A steal by White set up Cony’s Kristi Violette for two free throws that tied the game with 33.8 seconds remaining. Mack then stripped the ball from Paradis near midcourt, and the ball rolled into backcourt and out of bounds – to Cony under its own basket with 11 seconds left.

Shelby Pelkey inbounded to Cooper, who passed across the lane to Violette. She then took one dribble and gave Cony the lead for good by making a scoop shot with 5.7 seconds.

Nokomis had one last chance, but a 25-foot jumper by Paradis at the buzzer bounced off the side of the rim. Cooper led 19-0 Cony with 16 points, while Mack and Violette added eight points apiece. Paradis scored 12 points to lead 11-9 Nokomis, while Teresa Cooper added 10 and Tatum Welch scored nine.

Nokomis held a 24-21 halftime lead, but Cony seemingly took control by scoring the first 10 points of the second half to take a 31-24 cushion. But the upset-minded Warriors fought back, with back-to-back 3-pointers by Paradis and Alyssa Bragdon rallying Nokomis to a 38-38 tie a minute into the fourth quarter.

The teams then swapped the lead several times before Bragdon forced overtime by making a runner with 5.5 seconds left in regulation. Nokomis then scored six unanswered points, four on 4-of-8 shooting from the line and two more when Welch grabbed one of the misses and converted the followup shot, before Cony mustered one final comeback.

RAMS 54, WARRIORS 52 (OT)

Nokomis (11-9) 52

Paradis 4-3-12, Fournier, Peterson 2-2-6, Al. Bragdon 3-0-7, Cooper 4-1-10, As. Bragdon 2-4-8, Welch 4-1-9

Cony (19-0) 54

White 2-3-8, Renoe 3-0-6, Cooper 5-6-16, Arbour, Mack 4-2-10, Pratt, Pelkey 0-4-4, Violette 2-6-10

3-pt. goals: Paradis, Al. Bragdon, Cooper; White

Nokomis 9 24 32 46 52

Cony 11 21 37 46 54