BANGOR, Maine — The Class B Old Town High School girls basketball team turned in a superb defensive and rebounding performance at the Red Barry Gym on Friday night and cruised to a 37-22 victory over the frigid-shooting Class A Bangor High School Rams.
The Rams were without senior tri-captain Avery Clark, one of the team’s leading scorers, rebounders and defenders, and the aggressive Coyotes took full advantage while improving to 8-2 with their fourth win in five games.
Old Town, which features a swarming man-to-man defense, has held seven opponents to under 40 points.
Senior guard and tri-captain Dalaney Horr had a game-high 15 points for the Rams on 7-for-17 shooting from the floor but the rest of her teammates went 1-for-25.
“Our kids played great defense. They obviously missed having Avery Clark,” said Old Town coach Heather Richards. “That would have made a difference in the game. I’m not saying we couldn’t have won. Our kids played hard-nosed defense.”
“We knew they liked to drive and kick so we were collapsing really good,” said Old Town senior guard Taylor Loring.
Old Town sophomore forward-center Emma Ketch and Loring paced the Coyotes.
Ketch had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Loring had 11 points and four rebounds and hit a pair of game-changing 3-pointers to close out the first half and swell a one-point lead into a 19-12 advantage. The Rams never got any closer than seven the rest of the way.
“(Bangor) is a super aggressive team in that zone defense with the trapping. It’s really hard but I got a few open looks from my teammates,” said Loring. “It felt really good to finally have an open look and to be able to deliver for my team.
“It feels good to beat a Class A team. They’re super aggressive and a really good team,” added Loring.
The Coyotes built the lead to 27-15 by outscoring Bangor 8-3 in the third period.
Junior guard and tri-captain Lucy O’Connell hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter for the only Bangor basket not scored by Horr but Ketch scored the next six points, all from under the basket, to fuel a game-clinching 10-0 run.
Loring agreed with her coach that the Rams missed Clark.
“She is super aggressive and a really good scorer,” said Loring.
Ketch and fellow six-footer Sophie Morgan along with forward Karina Dumond controlled the glass at both ends of the the floor against the smaller Rams.
On one possession in the third quarter, Old Town grabbed four offensive rebounds.
“We wish we would have made a layup on the first one. But the girls did a good job crashing the offensive boards,” said Richards.
“They’re a big team and when you have a team like that, you’ve got to hit your box-outs. You have to be working the entire time and getting position and we didn’t,” said first-year Bangor coach Kristin Hermanson.
Dumond finished with five points and 11 rebounds and fellow senior Morgan wound up with four points and 10 rebounds.
Taylor Madden had five points for Old Town.
Horr finished with six rebounds and three steals to go with her 15 points.
O’Connell produced five points and five rebounds and senior guard Clara OIdenburg had nine rebounds and three steals.
Junior guard Emily Caulkins had four rebounds and three steals along with two points and junior forward Avery Fullwood had five rebounds.
Both teams turned the ball over frequently courtesy of Old Town’s intense man-to-man and Bangor’s full-court press and trapping.
“I always say our best offense is our defense and tonight we really didn’t have it,” said Hermanson, whose Rams fell to 8-2 after having their five-game winning streak snapped. “Holding that team to 37 points is great but it’s just that the defense we’re looking at with our press and our steals and our transition is our best offense and that didn’t happen tonight. I think we had like one fast break.”
She said Clark is their spark on the press and not having her hurt them offensively and defensively.
“We struggled scoring the basketball,” said Hermanson.
Old Town will play again Monday when the Coyotes host Ellsworth at 7 while Bangor returns to the court on Tuesday at 5:30 when it entertains Hampden Academy.