The Bangor High School girls basketball team will look different this season now that both 6-foot sisters Abbie and Mimi Quinn have moved on.
Abbie Quinn graduated two years ago and Mimi departed last spring which leaves the Rams without a dominant presence in the paint.
Bangor will open its season at Portland at 6 p.m. on Friday.
“It’s going to be a work in progress,” said sixth-year head coach Jay Kemble, who has posted a 63-27 regular season record in his five previous seasons. “We’re looking to build a different way now that we don’t have the inside presence in the paint that we had from the Quinn sisters.”
Kemble said Mimi Quinn could handle the ball, had a lot of poise and was a great leader, qualities the team needs to replace.
“We’re trying to find a way to develop offense and rebounding without her in the lineup,” he said. “We’re going to have to play varying types of defenses. We have always been an aggressive in-your-face, person-to-person type of team, the question is can we do that and still find ways to rebound?”
Strong play in the paint will be important for the Rams.
“The key for us will be to limit the number of second shots (off offensive rebounds) that the other teams get,” Kemble said. “We’re smaller than we’ve been in terms of length but we’re also pretty quick and very athletic. Eleven of our 12 players played for our state championship soccer team this fall.”
Kemble, a former UMaine relief pitcher and assistant baseball coach, also coaches the Bangor soccer team and said he has always been a big proponent of multi-sport athletes.
Kemble said preparing for games that require his players to play with more physicality and speed and facing more pressure will help them grow as people.
The Rams had only one week off after winning the state Class A soccer title with a 3-1 win over Scarborough so he said his players are still getting into basketball shape.
“There’s more stop-and-go in basketball,” said Kemble.
Kemble has three players back who started every game last season and another who started every game in 2022-23 in senior point guard Ayzlynn Gifford. She missed all of last season due to a knee injury she suffered playing soccer.
She was the heir apparent to Emmie Streams, who is now playing for the University of Maine.
That meant it was point guard by committee with guards Dalaney Horr, Emily Adams and Avery Clark handling the duty dependably.
Clark, who is now a junior, was Class AA North’s eighth-leading scorer a year ago with a 12.3 points per game average. She was tied for fifth with 3.1 assists per contest and she also averaged 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals, both of which were tied for eighth best.
Horr, now a junior captain, averaged 8 ppg (13th in AA North), 5.9 rebounds (12th), 2.4 steals (5th) and 3.2 assists (4th).
Adams, now a senior, produced 7.5 ppg (15th) and 6.3 rpg (tied for 8th) in 2023-24.
Kemble called Clark a “fiery competitor who isn’t afraid to take the ball to the basket. She’s gritty, she can shoot outside and she really shines in big moments.”
Horr is a tremendous athlete who can shoot from the outside and also take the ball to the basket and hit a pull-up jump shot, according to Kemble.
Adams, he said, is physically strong and the type of player who can bring people out to the perimeter to guard her and then take the ball to the basket.
“All three of them can score at all three levels (beyond the 3-point arc, the mid-range jumper and the drive to the basket),” he said.
He also said having Gifford back is a major plus.
“She is such a good person and a tremendous athlete. She can not only generate offense, she can get the ball to the open person which will be huge for us,” said Kemble.
Junior guard Clara Oldenburg started 18 of Bangor’s 20 games last season and is an elite defender, according to Kemble.
“She’s a great athlete and a really competitive player who is gaining more and more confidence,” said Kemble.
Sophomore guard Emily Caulkins is “physically strong and is getting better every day.”
Kemble said junior guard Gabby Roy may be the best athlete on the team. She can penetrate the lane lefthanded and righthanded and she can also jump and rebound.
Five-foot-11 junior forward Ava Syphers is vastly improved and has the ability to post-up down low, said Kemble.
Sophomore Lucy O’Connell will use her 5-10 frame to be an effective rebounder, Kemble said.
Senior guard Kali Snowden is one of the team leaders and is lefthanded so she presents a different look to defenders.
Sophomore guard Gabby Spreng is “really aggressive and fearless” as a defender and rebounder and speedy freshman guard Georgie Stephenson is “explosive” and will continue to get better as she adapts to the pace of high school basketball.
Kemble said his team can score but will need to protect the basketball and take quality shots.
And all of his players will have to defend and crash the boards.
“I like our depth. I have a role for every player and they all do different things that can allow us to be successful,” said the 61-year-old Kemble. “If we can stay healthy and grow as a group, we can cause some problems in our league.”
