ORONO, Maine — It’s tough enough to beat a defending state champion once, but to do it three times in a season is rare.
That is exactly what the Bangor Christian girls basketball team did on Tuesday night on the Skip Chappelle Court in the Memorial Gym on the University of Maine campus in Orono as senior guard Mary Allen scored a game-high 14 points and sophomore sister Annie added 10 more to lead the Patriots past reigning state Class C champ Penobscot Valley of Howland 41-33.
Bangor Christian, now 16-0, will enter the Class D North tournament as the top seed while Penobscot Valley fell to 10-4 and is fifth in the D North Heal Points standings after dropping down from Class C.
Bangor Christian had beaten PVHS earlier this season 50-40 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor and 62-53 in Howland.
It was the lowest scoring output for both teams due to their exceptional defensive play and the longer college 3-point arc, which is 22 feet, 1 ¾ inches from the basket compared to the Maine high school distance which is 19 feet, 9 inches.
“It wasn’t our prettiest performance but I was proud of the way we played defense,” said Bangor Christian coach Brock Bradford. “To hold a team that good to 33 points is a gutsy effort from our girls. I was very proud of them.
“It was a testament to the emphasis we put on their better players, knowing that they can really shoot the ball,” added Bradford.
PVHS leading scorer Rylee Moulton, who is averaging over 20 points per game, was held scoreless and she never even took a shot.
“Defense has always been something I try to take as much pride in as I can because that’s one of the things you can really control,” said Allen, who transferred to Bangor Christian with her sister this year from Central High in Corinth. “We didn’t have a great offensive showing tonight but our defense really stepped up.”
Moulton was very busy on the defensive side of the ball, being tasked with covering Colby College-bound Mary Allen and did an impressive job in holding her nine points below her average.
Bangor Christian had hit seven 3-pointers in each of the first two wins over PVHS according to PVHS coach Nate Case but it took until the third quarter before the Patriots hit their first one.
Mary Allen fed her sister for their first three of the game midway through the period and then hit one herself during a 10-2 run that turned a one-point lead to a nine-point cushion before PVHS eighth-grader McKenna Ireland’s layup closed out the scoring in the quarter to pull the Howlers within seven.
Ireland grabbed an offensive rebound and scored in the paint to open the fourth quarter and Lila Cummings hit two free throws to close the gap to three.
But Lyndsie Durost fed Annie Allen along the left side for a long three and freshman Rivers Bradford maneuvered her way through a crowded lane to lay the ball in and she was also fouled and converted the free throw for a 36-27 lead with 5:28 to play.
“Annie is a great shooter,” said her big sister.
The Howlers couldn’t get any closer than six the rest of the way.
“Mary took the game in her hands in the second half and said she was going to make something happen every time down the floor,” said PVHS’s Case. “And those two threes by Annie daggered us.”
He was pleased with his team’s defensive effort but said they all “seemed to be on a different page, offensively.”
Mary Allen had six rebounds and three assists to go with her 14 points. Annie Allen had four rebounds to accompany her 10 points. Bradford finished with nine points and three rebounds and Reese Starbird had six points and six rebounds.
Sophomore Charlotte Brochu paced the Howlers with 12 points and three rebounds. Ireland had nine points and four rebounds and Lila Cummings produced seven points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Brooklynn Raymond, who brought a 14.3 points per game average into the game, was held to two points by Bradford and took only three shots. But she did corral eight rebounds.
Moulton had five rebounds and three steals.
Penobscot Valley shot 12-for-33 from the floor compared to BC’s 17-for-42.
Penobscot Valley will visit Schenck of East Millinocket for a Thursday game at 5 while Bangor Christian will host Penquis of Milo on Saturday at 5 at the Cross Insurance Center.