It isn’t easy to transfer from one high school to another, especially for your senior year.
But it has certainly been agreeing with Mary Allen, who left Central High School in Corinth for Bangor Christian and is looking to win a second state championship this school year.
Allen, who transferred with sophomore sister Annie, has already won a state title in eight-player girls soccer and is looking to add a Class D basketball championship to her resume.
A third victory of the season over primary regional title challenger Penobscot Valley of Howland has made the Patriots the favorite in Class D North.
PVHS is the defending state Class C titlist but dropped to D this year in the Maine Principals Association’s re-classification.
Through 15 games, Allen, a 5-foot-8 guard, was leading the Penobscot Valley Conference’s Class D schools in scoring at 22.9 points per game and assists with 5.7 per contest. She was third in steals with 5.13 and fourth in blocked shots with 1.2 per game.
Allen reached the 1,000-point milestone for her career last January at Central.
More importantly for Allen, her Patriots are 16-0 and will finish atop the Class D North Heal Points standings.
“To be honest, I don’t really look as much at individual statistics,” said Allen. “It’s nice to see assists numbers and points, sometimes. But at the end of the day, I just want to win.
“I love winning. There is no better feeling than winning, especially as a team,” she added.
And she enjoys the way her Patriots win by not having to rely on one or two people to do all the scoring.
“We have different people who can step up. It’s fun to play that way,” Allen said.
Her decision to transfer was “kind of a long time coming” she said.
“We were looking at switching schools my sophomore year,” explained Allen. “We were home-schooled at Central so we weren’t always fully into the Central community and we wanted to give public school or private school a try.”
She said her younger sister has really benefited from the change, and that the Bangor Christian community has welcomed them.
“You couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to transition to and really go through this with,” Allen said. “There hasn’t been any sort of drama. We’ve really formed friendships and bonds and we’ve really loved it.”
She was also very quick to praise her former Central High teammates.
“I built so many connections with the girls at Central. I am so grateful to all of them. They have made me the person I am today,” Allen added, saying the switch to Bangor Christian “wasn’t really a sports decision.”
“It’s about academics and our faith, which has really been a big thing here at BCS,” she said.
Penobscot Valley coach Nate Case said Mary Allen has been phenomenal.
“She controls the entire game at a Pierce Walston level, offensively and defensively,” said Case ,referring to the former Orono High star who was the 2024 Maine schoolboy Gatorade Player of the Year and is now playing at Husson University in Bangor.
Bangor Christian coach Brock Bradford called Allen a “natural leader” who can do it all on the court.
“She is a tremendous athlete and a real good person,” said Bradford. “She distributes the ball and finds people when it’s there. She doesn’t try to force stuff. Her composure and ability to handle the press really sets the tone for what we can do, offensively.”
Allen is also an exceptional defender, holding PVHS scoring leader Rylee Moulton scoreless in a 41-33 win over PVHS on Tuesday night in Orono on the Skip Chappelle Court in the Memorial Gym.
Moulton was averaging over 20 points per game.
Allen said she has always taken pride in her defense.
Bangor Christian senior guard Lyndsie Durost said Allen has been a “key aspect” of the Patriots team.
“I love her. She’s so good. I’m so glad she came this year. She has added so much,” Durost said. “She is very calm. If we’re getting overwhelmed, she makes sure she calms us down. She is a great captain and a great leader who also makes sure nobody is in a bad mindset.”
Allen has already had a memorable fall.
She scored four goals in a 5-0 win over Richmond in the Eight-Player South soccer regional and then notched all three in the state title game, a 3-0 triumph over Wisdom of St. Agatha.
“It was so fun. I haven’t put as much time into soccer as I have basketball. It’s more laid back for me but I’m still very competitive,” Allen said. “So it was fun to have such an amazing team. Rivers Bradford is incredible at soccer. She did great this season. Having people like that who can step up made the game fun.”
She will take her basketball talents to Colby College in Waterville next season.
“I was kind of waiting to get accepted into Colby. I always liked it there,” Allen said, noting that she and coach Chenel Harris-Smith really bonded. “But especially the academic institution Colby is. It’s such a great school. I’m so excited.”
But before she ventures off to Colby, she would love to hoist the gold ball after winning the state Class D basketball tournament.
“We’ll see where the season takes us. We have to keep humble and working hard,” said Allen, whose mother, Sue Ann Allen, was a Husson University Hall of Fame point guard.
One of Mary’s older sisters, Sydney, was an All-North Atlantic Conference first team guard at Husson and was the 2018-19 NAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Another of her other sisters, Izzy, is currently a sophomore who is playing for the University of Maine.