HAMPDEN – It was a totally typical Cony win.

A lot of accurate shooting, tough man-to-man defense and a strong inside game powered the Rams of Augusta to a 63-35 victory over Hampden Academy Friday night in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A crossover game.

Cony hit eight of its 14 attempts from 3-point range. The Rams held the Broncos to eight points in the first half. And 6-foot-1 senior center Rachael Mack tossed in 17 points to lead all scorers as the defending Class A state champs moved to 11-2.

Cony beat Hampden 60-36 on Dec. 21. The Broncos, who were coming off their first win of the season Jan. 12 against Brewer, drop to 1-11.

“This was a really good defensive game for us,” Mack said.

“We knew they were coming off their first win and they’re definitely not a bad team,” added senior Shelby Pelkey, who dished out 11 assists to go with 12 points, four steals and three rebounds. “If we didn’t come out and play hard defense we were going to be in trouble.”

The Rams got off to a fast start, building a 19-6 lead early in the second quarter and held Hampden to just one more basket before halftime.

The Broncos were hoping to keep up with the Rams from the get-go, which they were unable to do in the Dec. 21 game.

“We thought our offense would be able to get off to a better start, but we started to struggle again,” said Hampden junior guard Kayla Webb, who had eight points.

The Rams had six turnovers in the second quarter and didn’t score for almost three minutes in that period, but Hampden managed just the Rawcliffe basket in the same stretch.

Neither team scored in the final 2:31 of the quarter.

Hampden played solid defense during stretches of the first half. Cony had six turnovers in the second quarter and didn’t score for almost three minutes at one point.

But the Broncos couldn’t convert. Although they handled Cony’s full-court press, they had six turnovers on their first seven possessions of the game and committed 14 turnovers in the first half.

While Hampden was turning the ball over, Cony was draining 3-pointers.

Backup guard Courtney Dufour, who scored all 12 of her points on 4-for-4 shooting from the arc, hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter and two more in the third. Pelkey was 2-for-5 and sophomore Blaire Burney came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer that sparked a quick 8-0 run.

Like most teams, the Broncos had trouble shutting down both the Rams’ post and perimeter games.

“It’s hard to try to guard Mack inside, stay on her, and also get out on their shooters,” Webb said. “You have to give up something.”

Mack doesn’t have to be inside to score, however. She hit a variety of midrange jumpers and had a 17-footer in the first quarter. The 2007 BDN All-Maine second-team player, who will play for Colby College of Waterville next year, also had eight rebounds and three assists.

Freshman Julia Snyder led Hampden with 12 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter.

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

990-8193

RAMS 63, BRONCOS 35

Cony (11-2) Hampden (1-11)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Pelkey 4 10 2 2 12 Webb 3 7 8

Parker 0 0 0 0 0 Pond 1 1 2

M. Dufour 0 1 1 2 1 Foster 0 4 0

Belanger 3 6 1 1 7 Wilson 0 1 0

Burney 2 6 0 2 5 Stephnsn 3 7

Mack 7 11 3 5 17 Moore 0 0 0 0

Ford 1 3 1 2 4 Rawcliffe 2 7 6

C. Dufour 4 4 0 0 12 Chambrs 0 1 0

Clark 1 1 0 0 2 Neill 0 0 0

Tardiff 1 1 1 2 3 Snyder 5 6 12

Marson 0 0 0 0 0 Andersn 0 1 0

Miller 0 0 0 0 0

Jones 0 3 0 0 0

Totals 23 46 9 16 63 Totals 14 34 14 35

Cony 17 29 45 63

Hampden 6 8 21 35

3-pt. goals – Cony (8-14): C. Dufour 4-4, Pelkey 2-5, Burney 1-1, Ford 1-3, Jones 0-1; Hampden (1-4): Webb 1-3, Stephenson 0-1

JV: Cony 51-27

Attendance: 300 (est.)