BANGOR, Maine — Christmas bells weren’t only heard in downtown Bangor on Saturday afternoon.
The Bells were also being heard in the Cross Insurance Center as sisters Crystal and Jocelyn Bell rang up eight three-pointers in the first half to lead the John Bapst High School girls basketball team to a 74-56 victory over Caribou in a mutual season opener.
Sophomore Crystal, the Crusaders’ leading scorer as a freshman, nailed five three-pointers including a couple from way beyond the three-point arc, and senior Jocelyn hit three more as John Bapst used a 21-7 run over the final 4:14 of the first half to build a 49-30 halftime advantage.
Crystal had 24 of her game-high 26 points in the first half to go with three assists. Jocelyn had all nine of her points in the first half.
“I was in a little bit of a zone in the second quarter and Jocelyn shot very well, too,” said Crystal Bell.
“(Crystal) was very, very tough,” said Caribou junior guard Maddie Doucette, who paced the Vikings with 19 points. “You had to guard her the minute she drove over half-court.”
“(Crystal) was on fire in the first half. Even (Jocelyn Bell) came in and shot real well,” said Caribou coach Ryan Deprey. “That was one of the better offensive performances I’ve seen for the first time out in a regular season game. Usually, you see scrappy up-and-down stuff. But they shot real well today.”
“(Shooting three-pointers) is my role on the team. That’s what I had to do and I did it. I got good passes from my teammates,” said Jocelyn Bell.
The Crusaders, who started three sophomores, built a 28-16 lead early in the second quarter but the scrappy and youthful Vikings rattled off seven unanswered points from four different scorers to pull within five.
Crystal Bell sank a long three-pointer to begin the 21-7 stretch and scored her team’s next five points to expand the lead to 36-27.
The Crusaders finally broke free from the determined Vikings over the final two minutes of the half by scoring the last 11 points.
Crystal Bell converted her sister’s miss to trigger the flurry and then sank two free throws. Jocelyn Bell knocked down a long three, Hannah Philippon sank a free throw and Crystal closed out the half with a 25-footer.
“We played so hard. It was a great way to finish (off the half),” said Crystal.
“That’s the most points we’ve scored in a half in 10 years,” said JB coach Mike Webb, whose team was 10-for-18 from beyond the arc in the first half. “That’s as good as we’ve shot in a while. We’ve got kids who can shoot the basketball. It’s a great way to start. And we got it from everybody.”
JB opened the second half with a 13-3 run to make it 62-33.
Crystal Bell finished with five rebounds, three assists and two steals to go with her 26 points.
Sophomores Grace Philippon and Abbey Legasse had 11 and nine points, respectively, and Philippon shared team-high rebounding honors with Shaylyn Cyr as each grabbed seven. Hannah Philippon, Grace’s sister, had a team-high six assists to go with five points and six rebounds.
Caleigh Lebel had six points.
Ashley Matlock complemented Doucette’s 19 points with 12 points and she also had seven rebounds. Gabrielle Marquis had eight points, Jenna Boucher had seven and Searra Herbert contributed a game-high nine rebounds to go with six points.