DIXFIELD – They started strong and finished equally well Tuesday night.
It was just what came in-between that gave the Dirigo girls’ the most trouble. Still, the Cougars toughed it out against Livermore Falls for a valuable 53-46 win.
“It’s a big confidence booster,” said Dirigo forward Michelle Holmquist, who led all scorers with 20 points and seven rebounds. “We’ve been trying to work and get up to the No. 1 spot again or at least up high. This was a really good game to win and get back up there.”
Coming off a loss at Jay last Friday, the Cougars (8-2) were ranked eighth in the Western C standings while the Andies (9-3) held the second seed.
Though Dirigo burst out to a quick 13-3 lead against Livermore Falls, the Cougars couldn’t put a game Andies club away. The Cougars had to rely on a strong finish to pull out the victory.
“We’ve had some good leads early in some ballgames, and we haven’t been able to sustain the intensity needed to possibly put a team away early,” said Dirigo coach Gavin Kane.
The Andies persisted and were back within reach but were playing catch-up for most of the ballgame. Their pesky defense forced 30 Dirigo turnovers, but the Andies could not completely overcome the early deficit.
“That first three minutes, down 13-3 to start, we’ve talked to them before about the first three minutes of the game and the first three minutes of the second half,” said Livermore coach Frank Donald. “We did it other than those first three minutes.”
Dirigo also got 13 points from Abby Fenstermacher. Katherine Gagne had nine points while Holly Knight had eight points and eight rebounds. The Andies were led by Taryn Flagg with 15. Jenika Kelly had 12 points and 11 rebounds while Marjorie DeBrosky added 10.
Down by as many as nine in the third quarter, the Andies rallied in the fourth. A three-point play by Flagg and her four straight points minutes later had the Andies with 43-40. Each time Livermore Falls got within one, however, the Cougars produced key baskets to extend the lead.
“We executed a couple of set plays late in the game,” said Kane. “Those were important hoops for us. Then Michelle and Katie (Hutchinson) hit a couple of big free throws to help keep the lead for us.”
A DeBrosky drive made it 45-44 with 2:01 left, but Dirigo answered when Hutchinson spotted Holmquist in the post. After two free throws from Kelley made it 47-46 with 1:38 left, Holmquist fed Gagne in the right lane. The Andies didn’t hit a another field goal, and Holmquist and Hutchinson sank four straight free throws.
“We just kept our heads in it and knew we had to get the ball in the hoop and try to get it done,” said Holmquist.
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