RICHMOND — Round 1, in what figures to be a battle for Western Maine Class D supremacy between Richmond and Rangeley, went to the Bobcats and junior Jamie Plummer on Tuesday night.

The 6-foot center scored 33 points, including 13 of the Bobcats’ 15 in the fourth quarter, to lead Richmond to a 43-41 East-West Conference girls basketball win.

“We knew coming in that this would be a big game for the rest of the season,” Plummer said. “I think it should benefit us in the long run.”

The teams were tied at 22 at halftime, but the Lakers (3-1) came out quickly in the third quarter and outscored the Bobcats 15-6. When Chantal Carrier hit a pair of free throws to open the fourth quarter, the lead was suddenly 11, 39-28.

“At that point I knew personally I needed to step up and take over the game,” Plummer said. “We just had to dig deep and want it more.”

Plummer, who also grabbed 11 rebounds and had 10 steals, scored eight straight points to bring Richmond (4-0) to within three, 39-36. Danica Hurley fed Alyssa Pearson for a layup and Plummer cashed in a rebound to give the Bobcats a 40-39 lead with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left.

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It got pretty crazy down the stretch. Carrier stole the ball from Plummer after she grabbed a rebound and laid it in to give the Lakers a 41-40 lead. The teams traded missed shots and turnovers until Plummer put in a rebound, was fouled and made the free throw with 34 second left to play. She capped her night with a steal under Rangeley’s basket with seven seconds left.

“She brought her A game which we certainly expected her to,” Rangeley coach Heidi Deery said. “She’s a great player and she had a lot of good looks and a lot of great rebounds. When you let a player like that do that, it’s going to be a long night.”

The Lakers committed 29 turnovers, most of those forced by the Bobcats who held them to four points in the final quarter. Noell Acord and Brianna Snedeker grabbed some key rebounds in the final period to keep Richmond possessions alive while Hurley finished with six assists, five of those to Plummer.

“I definitely look for Jamie when we go down the floor,” Hurley said. “We’ve worked a lot in practice and we talk individually. I think we really have a good connection.”

The Carrier sisters, Emily and Chantal, who each finished with 12 points, are the only seniors on an otherwise young team. Deery also started two freshmen and a sophomore.

“We’ve still got some growing pains,” Deery said. “This is a great game, great atmosphere down here in Richmond. I’m not real upset. There were a lot of things we did that I was happy with.”

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The teams meet in Rangeley on Jan. 27.

“We won, so we get one in the win column,” Richmond coach Molly Bishop said. “But it doesn’t mean we’re better than they are.”

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com


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