It was a homecoming for Bella McLaughlin on Monday night on the Skip Chappelle court in the Memorial Gym at the University of Maine in Orono.
The former Hampden Academy basketball standout is now a junior guard at Boston University, and the Terriers were in town to take on the homestanding Black Bears.
UMaine won 54-45.
“It was surreal. I had been waiting for this moment since I was a freshman,” said McLaughlin. “I wish I could have played a little bit better.”
McLaughlin, BU’s second-leading scorer coming into the game, was held to just one point and turned the ball over a game-high eight times. But she did grab four rebounds, dished out three assists and made two steals.
BU head coach Melissa Graves sympathized with McLaughlin’s plight, saying returning home and playing in front of family and friends is hard.
“It’s always an emotional game. You either play great or don’t play well,” Graves said. “I’m sure she’s upset about the loss and her performance a little bit. Otherwise, she’s been very consistent for us.”
McLaughlin was a Bangor Daily News All-Maine Schoolgirl second team selection her senior year when she led Class AA North in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game. She also averaged 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 steals and 3 assists.
Bangor High point guard Emmie Streams was also on the second team that season and the two squared off again on Monday night as Streams, also a junior, started at guard for UMaine.
“It was awesome,” said McLaughlin, who also played against UMaine’s Sarah Talon from Windham, Maddie Fitzpatrick from Cumberland and Gardiner’s Lizzy Gruber.
“I love playing against them. They’re all so sweet. I hugged them all after the game,” McLaughlin said.
After graduating from Hampden Academy, the 5-foot-8 McLaughlin played a season at Providence College where she averaged only 4.5 minutes of playing time per game in the 18 games she appeared in.
She decided to transfer to Boston University and is much happier.
“Providence wasn’t the best fit for me. BU is definitely the best fit for me,” said McLaughlin. “My coaches have been super supportive of the way I play the game. My teammates have been super supportive. I love the city, I love my major.”
She is majoring in behavior and health and wants to be a social worker.
Although she struggled on Monday night, she still leads the team in minutes played per game (28.1), assists (27) and steals (11) and is second in scoring (7.4 points per game). She is also averaging 3.6 rebounds per game.
“She is tough as nails,” Graves said about McLaughlin. “She will run through a wall for you. She is a great leader. She is one of our four captains.
McLaughlin said her toughness leads her game on the court.
“My shot isn’t always there. I don’t finish all my layups,” McLaughlin said. “But the one thing I know I can control is how tough I play.”
Nick Winchester, her former coach at Hampden Academy, was in attendance along with travel team basketball girls players from Hampden’s district, middle school players and varsity and JV players from Hampden Academy.
“Her athleticism showed up well,” Winchester said. “No one is more athletic than she is. She is always focused, she is always going to compete and she always gives everything she has.
“She is a great defender and facilitator and the ultimate floor general. She is always communicating and making sure everybody is where they should be,” noted Winchester.
She is the point guard because starting point guard Aoibhe Gormley is out injured.
Winchester said McLaughlin is all about winning and doing whatever it takes to do so. She doesn’t care about her stats.
The Terriers are 3-5 and three of their losses have been by single digits including a two-point loss to Dartmouth and a three-point loss to Brown. They are without four injured starters.
“We need to be able to finish out games. And we have to start better,” McLaughlin said. “In the close games we’ve lost at the end, we got off to weak starts.”
Last year, she averaged 6.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2 assists in her first season at BU. She averaged 21.2 minutes of playing time per game.
“We have all the pieces we need but we have a lot of people out, so we’re trying to piece everything together,” McLaughlin said.
BU visits No. 11 North Carolina on Sunday at noon.