Cony beats Bangor to gain spot in final No. 2 Skowhegan up next on Friday

loading...

AUGUSTA – The Bangor girls basketball team faced a most formidable challenge in its Eastern Maine Class A semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center on Wednesday afternoon.

Not only did Cony of Augusta bring a 41-game winning streak into the contest, but it had already endured a postseason wake-up call by barely escaping its quarterfinal against Nokomis of Newport – rallying from a six-point deficit in the final minute of overtime.

If that wasn’t enough, the defending state champions were playing for two fallen teammates, starting forward Kristi Violette, hospitalized with complications related to diabetes, and backup guard Allyson Cheever, victim of a knee injury in the team’s regular-season finale.

Given all that, the result was almost predictable, as top-seeded Cony earned a 62-33 victory to advance to Friday’s 4 p.m. regional final against No. 2 Skowhegan.

Skowhegan whipped No. 3 Oxford Hills of South Paris 80-47 in the other semifinal.

“The girls worked extremely hard, and I think they wanted it for their teammates,” said Cony coach Paul Vachon. “Two of their teammates aren’t here, but it was a great effort from my team, the kids really stepped up.

“It was the best game we’ve played all year, there’s no doubt in my mind.”

Violette starred in Cony’s quarterfinal comeback victory, but fell ill and went to a local hospital emergency room Sunday night, according to Vachon.

She eventually was transported to Portland, where she was still hospitalized as of Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s really a sad situation [Kristi’s] going through right now,” said Cony junior forward Cassie Cooper, who scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

“But we know she’s here with us, and we just had to step up that little bit and win this so she’d be able to play with us next game.”

No. 4 Bangor (15-6) stayed with Cony early behind 10 first-quarter points from junior forward Tawnya Godinez.

But leading 12-10 with 2:52 left in the first quarter, Cony called time and switched from a zone to man-to-man defense.

Bangor managed just four field goals the rest of the way.

“They’re just so good, they really are,” said Bangor coach Tom Tennett.

“There’s a reason why they’ve won 40-some games over the last two years and are the defending state champions. They’re just a very solid, good team.”

Monica White hit a 3-pointer to give Cony a 13-12 lead by the end of the quarter, igniting a 13-point run that featured additional 3-pointers by guards Margaret Rende and Shelby Pelkey and gave the Rams a 23-10 lead midway through the second period.

Bangor turned to full-court defensive pressure in an effort to force Cony turnovers and create transition offense, but had limited success.

“In the second quarter the press was effective, but against a team of that quality it’s not going to be effective for that long because they’ll find ways to break it,” said Tennett.

Cony (20-0) held a 32-24 halftime lead and took a 42-32 lead into the fourth quarter before outscoring Bangor 20-1 over the game’s final eight minutes.

Rende added 18 points for Cony, while sophomore center Rachel Mack complemented Cooper’s inside work with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Godinez finished with a team-high 12 points for Bangor, while Kelsey Curtis had eight points and five rebounds and Serena Dubois had eight boards. Bangor shot just 18 percent from the field.

“You try to get inside as much as you can and you hope to get to the foul line,” said Tennett of his team’s efforts to generate offense against the Cony defense, “but they’re so big and strong inside, when they miss shots they’re strong on the offensive boards, and they handle the ball well enough so they’re difficult to press.

“I just told the kids after that game that probably the two best teams are playing in the Eastern Maine championship game.”

Skowhegan (19-1) earned its berth in Friday’s final in dominant fashion, moving out to a 40-22 halftime lead and then cruising over the final two quarters. Senior guard Nicole Paradis led the Indians with 22 points, while Danielle Miller scored 16, Beth Sevey had 11 and Megan Smith added 10.

CONY 62, BANGOR 33

Bangor (15-6) Cony (20-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

B. Hackett 0 1 1 2 1 White 2 7 8

Angst 0 7 0 0 0 Rende 7 15 18

Dana 0 0 0 0 0 Hall 0 2 0 0

Heath 0 1 0 0 0 A. Pratt 0 0

A. Hackett 1 8 0 1 2 Belanger 0 0

Smith 0 2 4 6 4 Cooper 4 7 10 12 19

Lincoln 0 0 0 0 0 Arbour 0 7 2

Bisacre 0 3 0 1 0 Mack 3 8 10

Wadleigh 0 0 0 0 0 Ford 0 0 0

Dubois 0 5 4 8 4 H. Pratt 0 0

Curtis 2 6 4 4 8 Pelkey 2 5 5

Clukey 1 2 0 1 2 Hopkins 0 1 0

Hartley 0 0 0 0 0 Golden 0 1 0

Godinez 5 15 0 0 12

Totals 9 50 13 23 33 Totals 18 56 20 28 62

Bangor 12 24 32 33

Cony 13 32 42 62

3-pt. goals – Bangor (2-8): Godinez 2-4, Angst 0-4; Cony (6-21): Rende 3-6, Cooper 1-1, White 1-3, Pelkey 1-3, A. Pratt 0-1, Arbour 0-7

No. 3 Oxford Hills (15-5) 47

K.A. Pellitier 1-2-4, J. Brett 2-0-6, Martin 1-2-4, Durgin 0-1-1, Bowden 1-0-2, Martin 2-0-4, Fox 1-1-3, Bunce 4-3-12, Pratt 1-0-2, Ke. Pelletier 3-2-9, L. Brett, Ramsey

No. 2 Skowhegan (19-1) 80

Saydjari 0-1-1, Paradis 8-2-22, Sevey 4-0-11, LaGross 0-5-5, Pinkham 1-0-2, Matchett 1-0-3, Miller 4-5-16, Dudley 2-0-4, Smith 3-4-10, Evans 3-0-6, Atkinson, Thompson, Veinotte, Ames

3-pt. goals: J. Brett 2, Bunce, Pelletier; Paradis 4, Sevey 3, Miller 3, Matchett

Oxford Hills 12 22 30 47

Skowhegan 24 40 64 80