RUMFORD – The Mountain Valley girls’ team is struggling, and the trend continued at Puiia Gymnasium Tuesday night.
Winthrop pulled away in the second half behind consistent play for a 54-49 victory over the Falcons.
Amanda Garwood led the way with 17 points.
Mountain Valley (3-6), who has lost four games in a row, hurt themselves by missing numerous high-percentage shots. The Falcons also turned the ball over approximately 30 times.
Winthrop (7-2) was effective getting the ball into the paint and making shots. Six-foot senior Emilie Knight scored 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Ramblers actually took the lead for good when Garwood scored the final seven points of the third quarter.
Mountain Valley was paced by Kristen Arsenault, who scored a game-high 23 points. The saving grace was a scrappy defense, led by teammates Devon Allen and Tanya Martin.
“My halftime speech was reminding them about turnovers,” Falcon coach Wade McLaughlin said. “The team with the fewest turnovers usually wins, and we’ve lost a few close ones. We are just not playing well right now.”
The Falcons missed several shots in the fourth quarter and were held without a field goal, until Martin scored with two minutes left in the game. Taylor Smith, Christine Volkernick, Vanessa Cayer and Kim Clark each had opportunities.
“At halftime, we needed to stop fouling,” Winthrop coach Sam Farrell said. “We only scored half of what we’re averaging, but Mountain Valley is tough, especially on defense.”
Winthrop made key free throw to keep the Falcons at bay. Rambler freshman Lindsey Gordon was a force on both ends of the court.
The Falcons had 21-17 lead on Arsenault baskets in the second quarter. The senior was in an automobile accident the previous day.
“The team is holding up well,” Smith said. “We are looking forward to Friday night. We need to work on shooting layups and breaking the press.”
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