Liberty, defense lead Lawrence past Bangor Bulldogs hand Rams first loss

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FAIRFIELD – Coach and star player were in agreement Saturday afternoon. It has been a long time since the Lawrence girls basketball team showed the kind of maturity and poise it did in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A matchup against Bangor at Folsom Gymnasium.

“I asked [Brogan Liberty] what she thought of the game and she said, ‘Coach, two years ago we wouldn’t have won this game,'” Lawrence coach Jason Pellerin said. “We came out, we fought and fought and fought, played as hard as we could, didn’t give up and we were able to turn this around.”

The 3-0 Bulldogs’ tough man-to-man defense held the Rams without a field goal in the second quarter, during which Liberty scored eight of her game-high 20 points as Lawrence rallied to beat Bangor 56-48.

Liberty, who added 11 rebounds, said she can’t remember a home win over Bangor in her four years.

“We thought it would be a challenge. A very big challenge. We came out on top, though,” the senior said. “We’re a really proud of ourselves. That was a huge win for us.”

Bangor (2-1) had just five field-goal attempts in the second period – in all the Rams went 9 minutes, 12 seconds with a made field goal – and saw its 6-point lead vanish in the face of a 10-0 Lawrence run and the Bulldogs’ tough man-to-man defense. The Rams scored five points in the second quarter, all at the free-throw line.

“They played strong defense and we kind of let it slip away from us in the second quarter,” Bangor coach Tom Tennett said. “I thought we played very well at times but definitely [in the] second quarter we didn’t play as well as we wanted to.”

Liberty scored five points in the run, getting it started with a driving basket that drew the second foul on Bangor center Stephanie Comstock. Liberty didn’t make the free throw, but hit one later, followed by a steal and another basket.

After Lawrence’s Kelli Murray hit two free throws, teammate Storme Savage drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to put Lawrence up 24-20.

Later in the quarter, Murray made two more free throws and hit a jumper from the free-throw line for a 28-21 halftime lead.

Bangor wouldn’t get any closer than five points in the second half and Lawrence’s lead was 14 points in the final moments, but Bangor’s Brooke Hackett nailed a jump shot and Amy Hackett hit two 3-pointers in the final 20 seconds, including one at the buzzer.

Amy Hackett (14 points) was a defensive focus for the Bulldogs, who used at least three different defenders after starter Megan Gilbert got into foul trouble.

“Man-to-man, in-your-face,” Liberty said of Lawrence’s defense. “… We just really focused on ball pressure and getting in the passing lanes. We love defense.”

Bangor led 17-11 early in the second quarter.

Lawrence’s Alexa Bernatchez chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Murray finished with 14 points.

Both Comstock and guard Allie Clukey got into foul trouble, something the Rams have to cut back on especially because they’re relatively thin at the forward and center positions.

“We’ve got to stop getting in foul trouble,” Tennett said. “… We’re substituting so much based on what fouls are dictating rather than what we do. That’s one of the things we’ve got to correct.”

Bangor’s Amy Wadleigh had a team-high nine rebounds.

Jessica Bloch may be reached at jbloch@bangordailynews.net or 990-8193.

BULLDOGS 56, RAMS 48

Bangor (2-1) Lawrence (3-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Jackson 1 1 0 0 2 Melcher 0 1 0

B. Hackett 4 8 0 0 8 Gilbert 1 6 3

Roberts 0 0 0 0 0 Perry 1 4 2

Tocci 1 6 2 4 4 Savage 1 4 3

A. Hackett 4 10 4 8 14 B. Liberty 7 12 6 13 20

Jellison 0 0 0 1 0 Murray 5 11 14

Frdnbrgr 0 0 0 0 0 Crlss-Clrk 0 0

Doucette 4 10 0 0 8 Bernatchz 5 14 4 8 14

Dana 0 1 2 2 2

Wadleigh 0 2 4 4 4

Sivik 0 0 0 0 0

Clukey 2 6 1 2 6

Comstock 0 1 0 0 0

Totals 16 45 13 21 48 Totals 20 57 14 25 56

Bangor 16 21 30 48

Lawrence 11 28 40 56

3-pt. goals – Bangor (3-7): A. Hackett 2-2, Clukey 1-3, B. Hackett 0-2; Lawrence (2-9): Savage 1-1, Gilbert 1-4, Murray 0-4

JV: Bangor 42-38

Attendance: 300 (est.)