DIXFIELD — Dirigo’s perimeter shooting was on and its bothersome defense restrained Rangeley’s capable offense for most of Friday night at DeFoe Gymnasium.
The Cougars also wowed their fans over live-streaming, tossing in seven 3-pointers to keep their distance from the persistent Lakers for a convincing 54-36 girls basketball victory.
“They have a good team there, so we had to make sure to step up pressure on the 1-2-2 zone press,” Dirigo coach Reggie Weston said. “(The players) kept their composure … they looked for the passes. They were getting a lot of open looks because of passing and they would kick it back to the girl that was open.
“These girls miss basketball so much that they are actually happy to be at practice, just to get on the court. We know the games don’t lead to much, but to them, they are starting to get some competition and get on the floor.”
Right from the get-go, the Cougars lit up the scoreboard in the first quarter, building an 18-4 lead. Page Lueders scored eight of her team-leading 11 points and knocked down two of her 3-pointers.
Dirigo’s defense kept being a nuisance in the second quarter and eventually headed into halftime with a robust 30-15 lead. Joyce Brophy dropped in a pair of 3-pointers to account for six of her 10-point contribution to the Cougars’ effort.
The Cougars followed the same pattern of using their annoying defense and outside shooting to remain well ahead of the Lakers, who never lost their composure.
“I feel like we played really well,” Dirigo senior Alexa Perreault said. “We worked as a team, communicated and did everything we were supposed to.
“They (Lakers) came out strong. Their 14 (Emily Eastlack) and 20 (Winnie LaRochelle) are very good players. We practiced on anticipating how they would do and they did very well.”
LaRochelle kept Rangeley afloat with her dazzling perseverance inside the key to score the game-leading 16 points. Teammate Ellah Smith helped out with her eight points.
“We were really capitalizing on our defense this time because in our previous game with Carrabec on Wednesday, we were hesitant on our defense,” Rangeley coach Brittany DiPompo said. “So we really focused on that and our defense is right where we want it.”
DiPompo went on to credit Dirigo’s pressure defense.
“We were just missing our offensive opportunities,” she said. “Hat’s off to Dirigo. They have a lot of (defensive) pressure. We knew that coming in. So our offense was kind of missing that. We had the opportunities, but now we have to finish them.”
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