Joyce comes off bench, leads Vikings to victory over Rams

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AUGUSTA – Megan Joyce geared up for postseason play by sitting on the sidelines.

It wasn’t by design, mind you, but the Oxford Hills center hadn’t been able to step onto the court for a game or practice since suffering a fractured pelvis on Jan. 29.

Seventeen nights later, she made a triumphant return, scoring 17 points Friday to lift the fifth-ranked Vikings of South Paris past No. 4 Bangor 54-50 in an Eastern Maine Class A girls basketball quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center.

“You’ve got to give her a lot of credit,” said Bangor coach Tom Tennett, whose team rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to within three in the final minutes but couldn’t muster the equalizing basket.

“When she’s there, they play really well. When she’s not there, they’ve struggled, but she obviously came to play tonight,” said Tennett.

Senior guard Kari Pelletier added a game-high 20 points – including a 13-for-17 effort on free throws – as Oxford Hills outscored Bangor 22-5 from the line to earn a trip to the regional semifinals for the third straight year.

The Vikings (13-6) play No. 1 Lawrence (18-1) of Fairfield on Wednesday. The Bulldogs defeated No. 8 Messalonskee of Oakland 49-39 in Friday’s last quarterfinal. Bangor finished its season at 14-5.

Joyce, a 6-foot sophomore, didn’t start the game but became a factor almost immediately upon taking the court for the first time since injuring herself while diving for a loose ball in a game against Edward Little of Auburn.

“I was really scared,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d give it as much as I could and that I would be able to do everything I know I could do if I were 100 percent.”

If it wasn’t 100 percent, it was pretty close.

Joyce made 7 of 8 shots from the field, with her first basket coming midway through the first quarter to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead – and they never trailed again.

Joyce scored eight points and Pelletier scored seven and created havoc with her dribble penetration during a first half in which Bangor stayed within 23-19 despite struggling offensively. The Rams committed 11 turnovers in the opening two periods while shooting just 30 percent (8 of 26) from the field.

“I don’t know whether it’s tournament nerves or what it is, but the first three or four possessions of the game, we just couldn’t get off to a good start,” said Tennett. “It looked like we were really nervous.”

Oxford Hills scored the first eight points of the second half to build a double-digit cushion that grew to as much as 14 points, the first time at 38-24 late in the third quarter.

The Vikings maintained that edge midway through the fourth quarter, holding a 47-33 lead after back-to-back baskets by Joyce. But Bangor battled back with its best offensive flurry of the night, as Brooke Hackett scored on a baseline drive and then a 3-point shot from the right wing to ignite a 13-2 run that pulled the Rams within 49-46 on two free throws by the senior guard with 1:47 left.

Pelletier countered with two free throws, but Bangor’s Meagan Doucette answered with a baseline jumper to leave the Rams within a single possession, down 51-48, with 1:04 to play.

Oxford Hills then got the ball to Pelletier, who went 3-for-4 from the line in the final 45 seconds to give the Vikings the cushion they needed.

“I’m proud of the kids that they came back and really worked hard,” said Tennett. “It’s just that we had put ourselves in a real tough situation.”

Hackett, a senior guard, and junior forward Hilary Sivik led Bangor with 12 points each, while senior guard Allie Clukey added eight points and eight rebounds and senior guard Amy Hackett contributed seven points and six assists.

In the late game, Brogan Liberty scored 18 points to lead top-seeded Lawrence past the Eagles. Alexa Bernatchez added 13 points for the Bulldogs.

Hannah Dexter paced Messalonskee with 17 points.

Messalonskee (10-10) 39

Perry 4-0-9, Dexter 7-2-17, Tinsman 1-0-2, Bridges 2-1-5, Oliver 2-0-4, Deering 0-2-2, Haiss, Charles

Lawrence (18-1) 49

Gilbert 1-4-7, Perry 0-4-4, B. Liberty 8-2-18, Clark 3-1-7, Bernatchez 5-3-13, Melcher, Savage, Murray

3-pt. goals: Perry, Dexter; Gilbert

Messalonskee 8 13 28 39

Lawrence 10 28 39 49

VIKINGS 54, RAMS 50

Oxford Hills (13-6) Bangor (14-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Pelletier 3 13 13 17 20 B.Hackett 4 12

Fox 0 1 0 0 0 A.Hackett 3 9 7

Brett 1 5 2 3 4 Frudnbrgr 1 2

Durgin 2 5 0 0 5 Doucette 1 2

Martin 0 2 0 0 0 Wadleigh 1 2

Cloutier 2 10 2 2 6 Sivik 5 7 12

Joyce 7 8 3 4 17 Curtis 1 2 2

Courcy 0 1 2 2 2 Clukey 3 9 8

Tocci 0 1 0 0

Comstock 1 5 3

Totals 15 45 22 28 54 Totals 20 51 50

Oxford Hills 11 23 38 54

Bangor 6 19 27 50

3-pt. goals – Oxford Hills (2-17): Durgin 1-2, Pelletier 1-7, Brett 0-3, Cloutier 0-5; Bangor (5-12): B. Hackett 2-3, Sivik 2-4, Clukey 1-3, A. Hackett 0-1, Doucette 0-1