BIDDEFORD — Freshman Hannah McAlary stepped up with three goals Thursday to lead Thornton Academy to an 8-3 victory over Biddeford in an SMAA girls’ lacrosse game at Waterhouse Field.

“I tried to get the ball wide so I could cut toward the middle and maybe look for that open shot,” said McAlary. “I was trying to spread the field so that I could run the middle.”

Thornton Academy (6-3) led 4-1 at halftime. Two minutes into the second half, McAlary buried a pass from Faith Sinclair to make it 5-1.

“If it turns into a 4-2 game, it’s different. Especially in (lacrosse) it’s runs, a lot of runs,” said Thornton Coach Craig Agreste. “We lost the draw, got a stop, came down in transition and got a goal. That was huge.”

“I was very excited about that goal. It was a huge turning point,” said McAlary. “I think that gave us the momentum we needed to finish the game strong.”

McAlary has continued to improve as the season progressed.

“She’s starting to come into her own. She has a lot of skill, a lot of ability. She’s good to have and I’m happy we have her,” said Agreste.

Sinclair added three goals for Thornton.

The Tigers (6-3) had trouble offensively, which frustrated Coach Caitlin Albert because they dominated the draws.

“When you win every draw and possession is key, it’s really frustrating to throw it away and lose it, and have them score in transition,” Albert said. “That’s the thing we haven’t been able to master yet and it’s really frustrating.”

“They won every single draw, I think, except for the last one,” said Agreste, “but I think defensively we made things difficult for them. If you can’t score, you can’t win.”

With the score 6-1, Biddeford lost its season scoring leader, Olivia Morrison, when she went down with a knee injury with 18:50 remaining. She had possession of the ball and went to plant and turn when she dropped to the ground. She had to be carried off the field by trainers.

“We have people that will hopefully step up the rest of the season,” said Albert.

Albert said she wasn’t sure about the extent of the injury but hopes for some good news.

“(A) knee (injury) is hard. You have to wait to see if the swelling goes down and then you can move it,” said Albert. “We’re going to pray that it’s nothing that bad.”

Morrison scored the Tigers’ first-half goal.

“You need people stepping up at this point in the season who haven’t stepped up yet. And who wants to be that person? It should motivate someone,” said Albert.

“Maybe an underclassman, maybe a senior, who knows, but now would be the time. We definitely need it for a good (playoff) push.”