Undefeated Skowhegan girls use 4th-quarter run to pull away from Bangor
Jan. 19—The undefeated Skowhegan High School girls basketball team was finally tested on Tuesday night after winning its first nine games by an average of 38.7 points.
But the Class A River Hawks rallied from two eight-point first-half deficits and closed out the game on a 14-3 run to upend AA Bangor 56-43 at the Red Barry Gym in Bangor.
Boston University-bound senior point guard Jaycie Christopher paced Skowhegan with 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Sophomore guard Maddy Morris complemented Christopher with 15 points and three assists and junior forward Callaway LePage produced 13 points and eight rebounds.
Christopher, who was averaging 23.4 points per game, didn't score her first two points until there was 2:23 left in the first half as she was covered very effectively by quick-footed Bangor junior point guard Emmie Streams.
The 6-foot Christopher did an equally efficient job guarding the much-smaller Streams, holding her to six points.
Bangor, now 7-4, didn't have anyone in double figures but the Rams received nine points and three rebounds from senior guard Laela Martinez and eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots from junior center Abbie Quinn. Lily Chandler and Cassidy Ireland netted seven points each and Streams had six rebounds and two steals to go with her six points.
Mimi Quinn chipped in with four points and five rebounds.
Skowhegan was leading 42-40 with 4:49 left in the game when Maddy Morris hit a runner from the middle of the paint.
Just over a minute later, Aryana Lewis was fouled after finding herself alone under the basket and taking an inbounds pass from Morris. She sank both free throws.
Following a missed 3-pointer by Bangor, Christopher grabbed the rebound and Lewis was eventually fouled again and converted both free throws to make it 48-40 with 2:46 left.
Following a pair of free throw misses by Bangor, Christopher sewed up the win with two free throws with 2:09 left.
She added four more and LePage added a couple from the charity stripe.
Bangor made only one basket over the game's final five minutes against Skowhegan's aggressive and cohesive man-to-man defense and finished shooting 3 for 14 from the floor in the fourth quarter.
"Defense is always a big focus for us," Christopher said. "We communicated a lot better in the second half. We made sure we knew where the shooters were and we helped each other out. We played team defense."
"We grinded one out," said Skowhegan coach Mike LeBlanc. "I wasn't very happy with the way we played in the first half but when I looked up at the scoreboard, it was 22-22 at the half. So we figured after playing a bad first half, we might as well put together a good second half."
Morris hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter to help the River Hawks build a 37-32 lead.
"Those were big threes," Christopher said.
"I was open and when I knock down the first one, that [pumps] me up," Morris said.
"She is more than capable of doing that," LeBlanc said. "Once she makes one, a second and third one usually follow. She has had games with 18 and 19 points this season."
Abbie Quinn fed Ireland for a basket and Ireland returned the favor with a pass inside to Quinn for a two-pointer that closed out the third quarter and pulled Bangor within 37-36.
Christopher's 10-foot floater from the left side and a LePage free throw extended the lead to 42-38 and Skowhegan eventually pulled away.
"You have to give credit to Skowhegan. They have a girl [Christopher] who is a calming force for them," said Bangor coach Jay Kemble. "We frustrated her at the beginning of the game but as the game got tighter, she did a tremendous job. She kind of took the game over in the second quarter."
Bangor led 12-4 in the first period and 18-10 with 3:01 left in the second period before Skowhegan went on a 12-4 spurt to close out the half and tie it up.
"We need to learn how to put a team away instead of letting them come back," said Streams, who added that Skowhegan did a "very good job on defense."
