HAMPDEN, Maine — Hampden Academy freshman point guard Naia Studley said she “wasn’t really nervous” when she stepped to the foul line with 31 seconds left and her Broncos leading rival Bangor 32-31 in their Class A North showdown on Thursday night.
And it showed.
Studley sank both free throws and the Broncos held off a furious rally by the visiting Rams to earn a 34-33 victory.
“I didn’t really think about it. If I think about it too much, I mess up. I just had to stay calm,” said Studley, whose free throws were her 12th and 13th points of the evening.
“Offensively, she is probably the most natural scorer of the basketball we have,” said HA coach Nick Winchester.
The Broncos will enter the Class A North quarterfinals at the Augusta Civic Center with a 14-4 record and three wins in their last four games.
Bangor will go into the tourney at 13-5 after having its five-game winning streak snapped.
Dalaney Horr’s lefthanded layup with 11 seconds left pulled the Rams within one but the Rams fouled Kate Adams with 3.7 seconds remaining and even though Adams missed both free throws and Bangor grabbed the rebound, all Bangor could do was launch a desperation halfcourt heave that didn’t come close.
The Rams’ relentless full-court press and trap limited the Broncos to seven first-half points as the visitors took a 14-7 lead into the intermission. The Rams forced 11 turnovers and would have had a bigger lead they hadn’t shot just 6-for-26 from the floor including several missed layups.
Hampden went just 3-for-14 from the floor and got outrebounded by Bangor 15-8 over the first 16 minutes.
But Winchester made some adjustments at halftime and the Broncos came alive offensively in the third period, scoring the first 18 points of the quarter to build a 25-14 lead.
Junior guard Eve Wiles sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a basket underneath by 6-foot-4 senior center Grace LaBree and then Studley nailed a three off an Aubrey Shaw pass to make it 18-14.
Wiles fed LaBree under the basket for two more points, Studley followed with a free throw and a basket and Shaw finished off the 18-0 run with two free throws before Bangor’s Emily Caulkins scored with a baseline runner with 1:09 left in the period.
Shaw and Horr swapped baskets to end the period.
The Rams also turned the ball over a lot in the third period.
Winchester explained that they spread the floor when they had the ball to limit Bangor’s ability to trap and double-team them.
“We also turned the ball over only four times in the second half after having 11 in the first half and that was the difference in the game,” said Winchester.
“We came out and played more aggressively in the second half,” said Studley. “We really didn’t want to lose.”
“Our defense in the first half was some of the best I’ve seen this season. And the toughness was there,” said Bangor coach Kristin Hermanson. “We played team defense. The rotations were there and the toughness was there”
But she also noted that they missed a “ton of layups.”
Hermanson said the third quarter “hit us hard.
“The first half was great. We knew they were going to come out in the second half and adjust and do things and it took us a little too long to respond to it,” Hermanson added.
The Broncos led by nine with six minutes left but the Rams went on an 11-3 run to pull within one with 45 seconds left.
Horr hit a three and then sank three free throws after being fouled behind the 3-point arc and she also passed to Lucy O’Connell for a three with 45 seconds left to slice the lead to 32-31. Gabby Roy had two free throws during the rally.
But the Rams fouled Studley and she converted to give HA some valuable breathing room.
Studley had three rebounds and two steals to go with her 13 points. Wiles had six points, four rebounds and two steals before being forced to leave the game in the final minute with an ankle injury. LaBree had six points, three rebounds and two blocked shots. Shaw added four points, five rebounds and two assists and Winchester said she did an exceptional job defensively to hold Clark to four points.
Chloe Watson had five rebounds before leaving the game with an ankle injury in the second half.
Horr had 13 points, four rebounds and three steals to pace the Rams. Caukins and O’Connell had six points, three rebounds and two steals apiece. Clark and Roy each had six rebounds to go with their four points apiece.
Clara Oldenburg had four rebounds and three steals.
