HAMPDEN, Maine — The Bangor High School girls basketball team was looking to snap its three-game losing streak against undermanned rival Hampden Academy at the Hampden Academy gym on Monday afternoon.
The Rams did just that.
Class AA Bangor received 23 points and 16 rebounds from senior forward Mimi Quinn, both game-highs, and beat the scrappy Class A Broncos 47-34.
Bangor is now 8-3 while Hampden Academy fell to 5-4.
“We were so sick of losing,” said the 6-foot Quinn, whose Rams had lost their last two games on buzzer-beaters against Brewer and Lewiston. “We really picked it up this game. Mentally, we were stronger and were able to follow through.”
Hampden Academy was without two starters in senior forward Lauren Voteur (concussion) and freshman guard-forward Aubrey Shaw (illness). Voteur is Hampden Academy’s veteran in the paint who usually guards Quinn.
“That was huge. That really opened up underneath the basket. Without her, they didn’t have an inside presence,” said Quinn, who also had two assists and a pair of blocked shots.
Sophomore forward Avery Clark had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals along with two assists, and sophomore guard Dalaney Horr chipped in six points, nine rebounds and two steals.
Junior guard Emily Adams had four points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Hampden Academy was led by standout senior guard Lucy Wiles’ 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Freshman guard Katelyn Adams hit three 3-pointers for nine points, while freshman guard Eve Wiles, Lucy’s sister, had six points and junior forward Caitlyn Murphy contributed five points and 10 rebounds.
Quinn’s 15 points and 10 rebounds in the first half helped stake the Rams to a 28-13 lead at the intermission.
She had six more points in the third period as Bangor extended the lead to 36-20.
But the Broncos rallied to within nine by rattling off a 9-2 run to open the fourth quarter on a steal and layup and two free throws by Murphy, Adams’ 3-pointer and a runner by Eve Wiles.
Bangor coach Jay Kemble called a timeout with 4:09 remaining and his Rams went into a deliberate spread offense and scored the next seven points on four free throws by Horr, a layup by Quinn off a Horr pass and a free throw by Clark.
“It was a battle,” Kemble said. “Our kids are starting to recognize when they have mismatches. They were able to go inside. Mimi was great. Whenever she got a pass inside and got double or triple teamed, she’s such a great passer that she would find a cutter.”
Bangor outscored the cold-shooting Broncos 15-3 in the first quarter to take a lead it would never relinquish.
The Rams scored the final 11 points of the period on a baseline jumper by junior guard Emily Adams off a Quinn pass, a Quinn offensive rebound putback, a Clark 3-pointer from the top of the key, and two more inside baskets by Quinn off offensive rebounds.
Hampden Academy standout senior guard Lucy Wiles scored the first five points of the second quarter to pull her Broncos within seven but the Rams answered with a 7-0 run, with Quinn scoring the first five points and Clark capping the flurry with a runner.
“I’m happy with the way the kids competed in the second half,” said Hampden Academy coach Nick Winchester. “We played so much better in the second half both offensively and defensively. We gave up 28 points in the first half but only gave up 13 in the second half until we began fouling. But that’s a tall task when you’re shorthanded.”
He felt Quinn was a difference-maker.
“When we did play good defense on her, she got on the glass and got some easy chip-in points,” Winchester said.
Hampden Academy will travel to Newport for a 6:30 p.m. game against Nokomis on Wednesday while the Rams won’t play again until they host Hampden Academy on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.