RUMFORD – A determined Mountain Valley girls’ basketball team could not complete the job down the stretch at Puiia Gymnasium on Thursday.
A fourth-quarter rally was necessary as Chelsey Dionne came alive, enabling Hall-Dale to remain unbeaten with a 41-37 win over the Falcons.
The Bulldogs’ comeback overshadowed the outstanding performance by Mountain Valley’s Kristen Arsenault, who scored 16 points, had five rebounds and five steals. The Falcon guard was all over the court, and together with Tanya Martin, were key cogs for Mountain Valley, which led with four minutes left in the game.
Class C Hall-Dale (6-0) received a key 3-pointer by Katy Brown to tie the score at 30, and then Dionne (11 rebounds) scored three baskets in the paint.
“I had just told the team to start playing like they are capable of,” Hall-Dale coach Sam Hayes said. “We really didn’t make any adjustments. We’ve had trouble getting focused for games.”
Class B Mountain Valley (3-3) hurt its cause by missing six of seven free throws and shooting 30 percent in the second half. Hall-Dale sank eight of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.
“We wanted to go right at them,” Falcon coach Wade McLaughlin said. “Our guards were quicker on the perimeter, and Kristen and Tanya could create some things.”
MV had started the game on fire and led the majority of the first half, building a 22-13 lead at the half. Arsenault scored nine of the team’s first 15 points. Kim Clark made two free throws and Devon Allen drained a trey.
“Defense was the key in the first half,” McLaughlin said. “We had worked on it, and our man to man worked against them. We had planned on playing them that way before finding out about their schedule.”
The Bulldogs, who beat powerhouse Dirigo two weeks ago to claim the top spot in the Mountain Valley Conference, are extremely busy this week. They played their third game in 24 hours and have another holiday tourney game today.
Caitlyn Laflin scored 13 points and collected six steals for the Bulldogs. Hayes felt his team picked up its intensity level in the final frame.
“We took things away from them,” McLaughlin said. “I would have liked to have seen a bigger lead, but we had a Mountain Valley shot 66 percent from the floor in the second quarter. A pair of baskets by Christie Volkernick and Martin’s 10 points gave the Falcons a 26-15 lead midway through the third quarter.
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