PARIS — Everything seemed to be going Oxford Hills’ way at the end of regulation Monday.
Bangor and Mary Butler took it all away with a pair of free throws on their first possession of overtime.
The Vikings were undone by their second nightmarish scoreless stretch of the afternoon, with the Rams pitching a shutout in the extra session and celebrating a 43-35 victory in a KVAC Class A girls’ basketball holiday matinee showdown.
“We came out in overtime and got a layup look, and I don’t know if it got partially blocked or not, but she missed the layup. They come down and make two free throws, and all of a sudden they’re kind of in a stall mode, just holding onto it,” Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier said. “We’ve been in an overtime game already this year and did pretty well with it. It comes down to making shots.”
And when Bangor (12-1) needed to make one, Butler, a 6-foot-1 senior wing bound for Brown University, usually delivered.
Butler finished with a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds. Sarah Bragg and 6-2 Cordelia Stewart added nine points apiece, with Stewart snagging 13 boards.
“It’s always a good thing when it’s Mary open, with her size, but we’ve got five people who can spread you out a little bit,” Bangor coach Joe Johnson said. “We’re tough to defend, and so is Oxford Hills. We got fortunate today they didn’t shoot as well as they can.”
Anna Winslow led Oxford Hills (10-3) with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Mikayla Morin pitched in 12 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists.
The Vikings went 0-for-7 in overtime, matching a disastrous run to start the third quarter. Morin beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to end that slide — one also complicated by seven turnovers — and trim Bangor’s lead to 32-23.
It was still an eight-point Oxford Hills deficit when Erin Morton got the shooter’s roll for a 3-pointer that made it 35-30 with 2:31 to go. Tianna Sugars then blocked Stewart to set up a Morin-to-Winslow connection for a layup.
“When the going got tough, we battled to the end and took it to overtime,” Pelletier said. “We could have collapsed, and we really fought.”
Oxford Hills got some help when Johnson was assessed a technical for a prolonged protest with 1:02 left.
Winslow missed the first resulting free throw but sank the second. Morin drove to the basket for the tie with 40 seconds to go.
Bangor went the final six minutes of regulation without a field goal.
“Honestly that’s the first time we’ve played zone, and I kind of liked it. We had some foul trouble and had to keep people in the game. It’s nice to know we’ve got something else to go to,” Johnson said. “But we had to go somewhere out of that zone that we don’t like to go to, and gave up some 3s. Those were nice shots. Unfortunately my technical let it get tied up.”
The Rams still nearly won it twice before the buzzer.
Bragg’s slashing shot rolled around the rim and out. Stewart fought for a held ball that went Bangor’s way with 1.4 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, Stewart elevated above the crowd to flag down the inbounds pass and unleash a relatively uncontested six-footer. It rattled off the iron twice before falling into Morin’s hands at the horn.
“Once they realized it was about executing and not being nervous, they settled in pretty nicely,” Johnson said. “Some of the things we called during timeouts, they made the adjustments, and it was nice to see.”
After shooting only 4-for-13 from the free-throw line in regulation, Bangor hit 6-fo-7 to close it out.
Butler found Stewart to start a 3-point play for a 40-35 edge with 2:21 to go. Bragg also sank two from the line, and Butler drained another.
Oxford Hills, which shot only 28 percent from the floor, couldn’t find the range as desperation set in.
“That’s what I love about this team. They always have fight in them. Even down five in overtime, they got a lot of good looks at the basket,” Pelletier said. “It’s good to see that we battled with a top team in the league. I feel like we’re a top team in the league as well.”
Bangor’s biggest lead was four and Oxford Hills’ largest advantage three in the first half.
Winslow scored seven in the second period to grab the lead. Bangor point guard Emily Gilmore (five points, six assists) took it away with a 3-pointer as time expired for a 20-20 deadlock.
Butler and Stewart combined for 11 of the Rams’ 12 points in the third quarter. Morin’s 3-pointer ended an Oxford Hills scoring drought of 9:45.
“The top four (in Class A East) can beat each other,” Johnson said. “It’s going to come down to something like we saw today. It’s whoever protects the basketball. That’s what we’ve been struggling with.”
koakes@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
