RUMFORD — Mountain Valley made the necessary adjustments and quickly pounced on Winthrop in a girl’s basketball game Friday night.
The Falcons jump-started things in the second quarter and received balanced scoring from the trio of Ashley Russell, Katie Puiia and Karen Flaherty who combined for 35 points in a 66-14 win against Winthrop at Puiia Gymnasium.
Mountain Valley has fallen on hard times, dropping six of seven games since opening the season with two wins. But Friday’s win represented an opportunity to get back on track.
The Falcons rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half, pulling within two points in a loss to Oak Hill three days earlier and lost to St. Dom’s in overtime Thursday night.
“It has been tough losing,” said Mountain Valley senior Kaitlyn Virgin, who scored six points, earned four assists and had six steals. ”We needed this game in order to keep together and start a win streak.”
Following a slow first quarter, Mountain Valley erupted for 22 points in the first 5:32 seconds of the second quarter. Sydney Petrie (seven rebounds) and Jenna Ploude (seven rebounds) each had baskets, and Flaherty (10 points) stepped out and drained a 3-pointer. Plourde and Petrie each scored from in the paint again and Puiia buried a trey from the top-of-the-key.
”I think the girls were able to relax,” said Mountain Valley coach Ryan Casey, regarding the 22-3 run. “We was able to get in to our rotations, but a key for us was handling the ball and (three) turnovers.”
Winthrop (0-8) had trouble bringing the ball up the court (18 turnovers and one of eight shooting). Shie Smith made a free throw and Randi Dennett made a basket in the second quarter.
The game was halted with 2:28 remaining in the second quarter because of water falling on the floor. RSU10 janitors put a bucket up in the rafters to catch the water from the leaky roof. Meanwhile, the players retreated to respective locker rooms and the game officials decided to extend the third quarter to 10:28.
When play resumed, Winthrop settled down and displayed good ball movement, and Dennett (eight points) drained a trey. But the Falcons scored eight straight points on two baskets by Russell (13 points, five rebounds, two steals) and a pair of free throws by Abby Mazza (eight points).
”The main thing was to snap the losing (sked),” said Puiia, who scored 12 points. ”We need to gain some momentum and build on it. But the team has continued to stay positive.”
Emily Laubauskas added four assists and older sister Shannon had three steals for Mountain Valley, which made 26 of 58 shots (48 percent) from the floor. The Falcons made 11 of 17 free throws and committed 14 turnovers.
Winthrop made five field goals and made 37 turnovers in the game.
”The good thing about a game like this is everyone got to play and contribute,” Virgin said. ”That’s important for the team. ”
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