Victoria Harris won the opening tip for the Blue Devils (2-1), and the ball found the hands of Skylar Gaudette, who couldn’t make a quick layup but did hit both free throws.
Lewiston never let off the gas from there, either at the offensive or defensive ends. The Bulldogs (0-4) rarely got off a shot in the early going, and the Blue Devils turned a handful of Portland turnovers into easy baskets the other way.
“The last two games we’ve had we’ve kind of had slowish starts, and we’ve really been working to try to come out strong,” Lewiston senior Morgan Eliasen said. “So that all started in the locker room, trying to get ourselves pumped up, it started when we were getting ready to come out and run out.”
Eliasen was the Blue Devils’ go-to player on offense in the first quarter, scoring nine of her 15 points in the period. She also added three blocks at the defensive end.
“That’s all you can ask for,” Lewiston coach Lynn Girouard said. “They were working their butts off on defense, and that’s the way we wanted to start the game. We wanted to pressure the ball and just play really hard defense to create those turnovers and push the ball up the floor offensively, and get easy baskets.”
Portland went nearly the first five minutes without scoring, before Rose Griffin made a free throw. Shayla Eubanks converted a put-back for the Bulldog’s first basket almost a minute later.
The Lewiston lead was 25-7 at the end of the first, then 27-7 after Hannah Chaput opened the second with a layup. But the Bulldogs responded with a 12-1 run to cut the deficit to 28-19 midway through the quarter.
“I think we just started to relax a little bit,” Eliasen said. “We got too comfortable with our lead.”
The Portland run ended with a put-back by Harris. The lead was 34-24 at the half.
Then, the Blue Devils pulled away once again. After shutting out Portland to start the third, Eliasen swished a long 2-pointer for Lewiston. That was the beginning of a 6-0 start to extend the breathing room. The Blue Devils out-scored the Bulldogs 22-7 in the period, with Harris accounting for eight Lewiston points. She finished with a game-high 16 to just edge out her partner in the post, Eliasen.
“Morgan can play inside or outside,” Girouard said. “She’s quite an asset to have on the floor, and she had a really good game tonight. She’s kind of coming out of her shell a little bit, getting a little bit more comfortable with the ball, which is nice.
“And Victoria, she’s come a long way, from her freshman year to know. She’s finishing at the rim, which is nice to see. Going up strong through the defense.”
The Blue Devils had another let-up in the fourth quarter, but the deficit was too big for the Bulldogs to overcome.
Nettie Walsh led Portland with 13 points, while Taylor Sargent added 11.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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