January 25, 2023
Tip-off between Oxford Hills and Bangor. Photo by Emily Bontatibus
By Emily Bontatibus
In a Tuesday night matchup, The Oxford Hills Vikings (13-0) beat the Bangor Rams (8-1) 39-34. The Vikings remain the only undefeated team in girls Class AA North.
The first ranked Vikings have exceeded the competition with their other closest game being a win against Cheverus (12-2) by 11 points. “Sometimes it’s just having enough will and grit to get it done,” stated Oxford Hills head coach Nate Pelletier, “and they were able to do that today.”
The second ranked Rams were undefeated this far into the season with several games along the way to test them. Luckily, Bangor did take something from this loss, Senior Captain Taylor Coombs reflected, saying “We can control attitude and effort, so that’s really what we focused on during this game.”
To open the first quarter, Bangor sported a scrappy man to man defense causing several turnovers for Oxford Hills. But, Oxford Hills Junior guard Tristen Derenburger responded with a clutch three, putting the Vikings up 3-0. The Rams penetrated the paint, Sophomore guard Ayzlynn Gifford hit a floater with two minutes left putting Bangor up 12-9 at the end of the quarter.
Down by three, Oxford Hills Senior guard Sierra Carson hit a three to tie the game 12-12 early in the second quarter. Rams Senior forward Abbie Quinn battled in the post drawing many fouls on the Vikings. Oxford Hills led 26-18 going into the second half.
The Rams took the third quarter viciously. With seven minutes to go, Quinn continued to crash the offensive boards, padding her stats and cutting the Vikings lead to 26-20. This quarter was plagued by turnovers on both ends of the court. A drive and dish by Carson to Junior forward Maddy Miller kept Oxford Hills on top. The Vikings led 35-25 going into the final quarter.
Bangor Senior forward Taylor Coombs hesitantly drained a three with six minutes left, cutting Oxford Hills lead to 35-28. The Vikings defense left many outside shots open for the Rams, but not without a key defender locking in. Oxford Hills’ Sophomore guard Gabbie Tibbetts boxed out Bangor strong to keep them from second chance opportunities. The Rams cut their deficit to three, but were thwarted by the Vikings urgent defense. Oxford Hills won 39-34.
The Vikings will face the Deering Rams at home on January 28th at 11:30 a.m, and the Rams will face the Portland Bulldogs away on January 27th at 7 p.m.
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