Mt. Ararat High School’s Olivia Swan received two special gifts on Friday.

First, her father, Ed, returned home for the holidays one day earlier than expected from his job in Alabama. And, Swan played a key role in her team’s 59-34 “Battle of the Bridge” victory over Brunswick, as the Eagles improved to 5-0 in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference

Swan came off the bench after starter Caitlin LaFountain picked up three first-half fouls, scored 11 points and pulled down six rebounds.

To say the least, it was a good day for the sophomore.

“I got tears in my eyes when my dad came home after one month away,” said Swan. “I don’t normally get many minutes, but today I played my best and we got the win. I am always ready to go in if needed. We will enjoy the holidays together. It is great to have my dad home.”

Mt. Ararat also received strong contributions from reserves Lindsey Cornelison (four rebounds, two blocked shots) and Micaela Mitchell (three steals).

“They had to come in and contribute right away, and it was great that they can come in this early in the season and do what they did,” said Eagles coach Kelly LaFountain, whose squad returns to action on Thursday at home against Cony. “This will only help us down the road and make us stronger.”

The efforts were needed against rival Brunswick, which despite an 0-4 record coming in battled hard for four quarters.

“When you’re young and the other team makes a run, it is tough to respond to it,” said Brunswick coach Sam Farrell, whose Dragons visit Lewiston this upcoming Friday. “We’re taking charges, and I don’t think there is a team around that hits the floor as much as we do. When you have a senior leader like Lauren Carlton (five points, seven rebounds, three steals, three assists) giving everything on the floor, it brings up everybody else, and as she goes, the team goes. They hustle so much.”

Brunswick hot

The Dragons certainly didn’t play like a winless club at the outset of Friday’s contest. Julia Champagne hit two jump shots for a 5-3 Dragons lead, and Lyse Henshaw drilled a 3-pointer, followed by a trey by Champagne as Brunswick held an 11-7 advantage midway through the quarter.

“We always start off the first quarter well, then we trail off,” said Henshaw, who scored a team-high 13 points, including three 3-pointers. “We know all the girls over there, and we always play hard.”

“I told the girls it doesn’t matter what the records are, so I told them to pick their intensity up and take their shots,” said coach LaFountain, who watched her team close the first quarter on an 8-0 run, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Kristi Willey, who had 10 firstquarter points.

Swan’s first basket completed Mt. Ararat’s 10-point run early in the second quarter as the Eagles took a 17-11 lead.

EricaFrenchhita3momentslater, but that was all for the Dragons in the second quarter as Mt. Ararat claimed a 24-14 halftime lead. Brunswick was one for 10 from the floor in the second frame and shot just 25 percent (five for 20) in the first half.

“Initially we were in man and they were running us off screens, and once we extended it out, we played better,” said coach LaFountain of the turnaround.

Swan stepped up in the third quarter, scoring five points, including a hard drive to the basket around two Brunswick defenders for two points. Mallory Nelson, who scored a gamehigh 18 points for Mt. Ararat, added seven points in the frame as the Eagles grabbed a 42-26 advantage after 24 minutes.

“I felt like we played a lot better, but the scoreboard sure didn’t match how hard we played tonight,” said Henshaw, who tried to keep the Dragons in it with a eight third-quarter points, including back-to-back treys.

Mt. Ararat put to rest any ideas of a fourth-quarter Brunswick comeback, as Nelson scored five more points and Swan four before both teams emptied their benches down the stretch.

The Eagles shot 44 percent (22 of 50) from the floor and made 12 of 17 free throws. Willey finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, with Nelson picking up three steals.

After its hot start, Brunswick cooled off, shooting 27 percent (12 of 47) from the field and five of 12 at the charity stripe. Champagne had nine points, two steals and two assists.

Mt. Ararat 59, Brunswick 34

At Brunswick
Mt. Ararat — 15 9 18 17 — 59
Brunswick — 11 3 12 8 — 34
Mt. Ararat — Chelsea Crawford 1-0-2, Katie Labbay 2-
0-4, Caitlin LaFountain 1-3-5, Kristi Willey 6-1-16, Mallory Nelson 7-4-18, Lindsey Cornelison 0-0-0, Micaela
Mitchell 0-0-0, Olivia Swan 4-3-11, Libby Davis 1-0-2,
Sara Lamb 0-1-1, Brigitte Milliken 0-0-0, Allison Melcher 0-0-0. Totals — 22-12-59.
Brunswick — Anna Dimick 0-0-0, Emily Black 1-2-4,
Lauren Carlton 2-1-5, Julia Champagne 3-2-9, Lyse
Henshaw 5-0-13, Gillian Doehring 0-0-0, Erica French
1-0-3, Sabrina Levesque 0-0-0, Jessi Libby 0-0-0,
Sasha Hampton 0-0-0, Liz Day 0-0-0. Totals — 12-5-
34.
3-point field goals — (MA) Willey 3; (B) Champagne,
Henshaw 3, French.
Records — Mt. Ararat 5-0, Brunswick 0-5.
Next — The Eagles host Cony on Thursday at 7 p.m.,
while the Dragons visit Lewiston on Friday at 7 p.m.