The Cougars ended any thoughts of a perfect Eagles season, handing Mt. Ararat a 58-47 loss, and consecutive setbacks to Edward Little and Monday afternoon’s 47-41 home loss to Oxford Hills has Kelly LaFountain’s squad reeling with just five games remaining in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference regular season.
“They are doubting their abilities at this point,” said LaFountain of her Eagles, who visit Erskine Academy on Friday. “Oxford had a good inside-out game and set up their defense well. They were able to finish.”
From the start of Monday’s matinee, the Eagles seemed off, scoring just six points in both the first and second quarters and trailing 19-12 at the break.
“We were so used to winning, and I think it may have gone to our heads a little bit,” said Mt. Ararat forward Mallory Nelson, who did her share with 19 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists. “We are in a slump. But, I think we are going to get out of this and finish strong.”
“They need to pull in together and finish strong,” said LaFountain. “Even in our 10 wins, I don’t feel we played a complete game. We need to have some momentum heading into the postseason.
“It is hard for me to put my finger on it. If we come out and hit our first couple shots, we have that confidence. If we miss, we don’t and it is hard to come back when a team is executing really well.”
Eastman gets hot
Oxford Hills started slow, trailing 2-0 midway through the first quarter. But, guard Abbie Eastman found a shooting rhythm, nailing a pair of 3-pointers as the Vikings led 8-6 after a quarter.
“I was feeling it today,” said Eastman, who said she had made 16 straight shots in pregame warm-ups. “I decided after doing well in warmups that I was going to let it fly. We kept our composure, didn’t rush it and just worked our game-plan inside-outside. We haven’t had very good games on the road, so I think it was a mental thing for us to come here and get a good win.”
“As coaches, we see her make shots consistently in practice, and she may be the best practice shooter in the world, but it hasn’t always come in line,” said Oxford Hills coach and Brunswick native Nate Pelletier. “This gym is a tough place to shoot in. We got a lot of open shots today, and we were able to hit them. Anyone on this team can step up, and today it was Abbie.”
Eastman made her third trey in the second quarter, and Anna Winslow came off the bench to score six firsthalf inside points as the Vikings claimed a seven-point lead at the break.
Eastman nailed another bomb from long distance in the third quarter as Oxford Hills extended its game-high lead to 12 points, 28-16.
Mt. Ararat made a run, clawing back to within seven, 34-27, on a Nelson putback early in the fourth quarter, but Eastman’s sixth and final trey gave the Vikings a 10- point lead, 37-27, with 5:20 remaining.
The Eagles kept coming, getting back-to-back baskets from Caitlin LaFountain and Nelson to get to 40-34 with 1:22 remaining.
But, Eastman again took over, getting possession of the ball and forcing Mt. Ararat to put her on the line. She made all six of her free throws to stave off the Eagles.
“It is a huge win for us, for one because it gives our girls confidence that they can find a way away from home to do well,” said Pelletier. “These girls have all the talent in the world. We feel that we can beat anybody that we play.”
Eastman finished with a game-high 24 points, making all six of her shots (all 3- pointers) and the six free throws she attempted.
“We tried to double-team Abbie, but she just ended up getting to the ball,” said Nelson.
Winslow finished with 10 tough inside points, while Crystal West had six, all coming in the fourth quarter on a pair of treys, and led the Vikings with five assists and four steals. Oxford Hills was 13 of 14 at the charity stripe.
Mt. Ararat finished 17 of 47 (36 percent) from the field and just five of 11 at the line. Lindsey Cornelison chipped in eight points, while Caitlin LaFountain had six points, nine rebounds and five steals.
Oxford Hills 47,
Mt. Ararat 41
At Topsham
Oxford Hills — 8 11 12 16 — 47
Mt. Ararat — 6 6 11 18 — 41
Oxford Hills — Crystal West 2-0-6,
Mikayla Morin 0-2-2, Abbie Eastman 6-6-
24, Alex Rowe 1-3-5, Brooke Murch 0-0-
0, Merrissa Scarborough 0-0-0, Anna
Winslow 4-2-10, Ally Hanley 0-0-0, Tianna
Sugars 0-0-0, Kelsey DeBlois 0-0-0.
Totals — 13-13-47.
Mt. Ararat — Chelsea Crawford 0-0-0,
Katie Labbay 1-0-2, Caitlin LaFountain 3-
0-6, Kristi Willey 3-0-6, Mallory Nelson 7-
5-19, Lindsey Cornelison 4-0-8, Olivia
Swan 0-0-0, Micaela Mitchell 0-0-0. Totals
— 17-5-41.
3-point goals — (OH) West 2, Eastman 6;
(MA) Willey 2.
Records — Oxford Hills 9-4, Mt. Ararat
10-3.
Next — The Vikings host Cony on Friday,
while Mt. Ararat visits Erskine Academy
on Friday.
Maine HS scoreboard
Monday’s Scores
By The Associated Press
BOYS BASKETBALL
Belfast Area 64, Nokomis Regional 62
Boothbay Region 61, Lisbon 51
Brewer 80, Mt. Blue 49
Calais 59, Sumner Memorial 57
Camden Hills Regional 60, Morse 48
Deer Isle-Stonington 55, Machias 47
Dirigo 65, Mt. Abram 35
Easton 64, East Grand 22
Edward Little 78, Cony 54
Fort Kent Community 67, Fort Fairfield 58
Fryeburg Academy 54, Lake Region 45
Gray-New Gloucester 61, Freeport 56
Hampden Academy 62, Skowhegan Area 29
Houlton 50, Presque Isle 39
Jonesport-Beals 73, Greenville 58
Lawrence 55, Brunswick 28
Madawaska 72, Houlton Christian Academy 66
Marshwood 65, Sanford 60
Monmouth Academy 45, St. Dominic Regional
36
Mount Desert Island 56, Foxcroft Academy 53
North Haven Community 58, Forest Hills Consolidated 57
Oxford Hills Comprehensive 57, Mt. Ararat 48
Scarborough 42, Kennebunk 26
South Portland 82, Bonny Eagle 77
Spruce Mountain COOP (Jay/Livermore Falls) 53,
Madison Area Memorial 45
Stearns 57, Penobscot Valley 36
Thornton Academy 62, Biddeford 46
Traip (Robert W.) Academy 91, Greater Portland
Christian 14
Washington Academy 82, Hermon 72, OT
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Belfast Area 58, Nokomis Regional 55
Calais 67, Sumner Memorial 40
Camden Hills Regional 71, Morse 44
Central Aroostook 61, Katahdin 58
Cony 60, Edward Little 59
Dexter Regional 52, Central 27
Easton 41, East Grand 16
Forest Hills Consolidated 66, North Haven Community 40
Gorham 57, Noble 32
Gray-New Gloucester 52, Freeport 38
Hampden Academy 56, Skowhegan Area 51
Hermon 43, Washington Academy 37
Houlton 48, Fort Kent Community 38
Jonesport-Beals 64, Greenville 42
Lake Region 62, Fryeburg Academy 30
Lawrence 63, Brunswick 54
Lewiston 54, Erskine Academy 42
Machias 50, Deer Isle-Stonington 48
Madawaska 47, Houlton Christian Academy 39
Mount Desert Island 78, Foxcroft Academy 35
Mt. Blue 48, Brewer 42, OT
Orono 43, George Stevens 37
Oxford Hills Comprehensive 47, Mt. Ararat 41
Penquis Valley 40, Piscataquis Community 39
Sanford 35, Marshwood 28
Scarborough 63, Kennebunk 24
Searsport District 50, Bucksport 42
South Portland 46, Bonny Eagle 29
Spruce Mountain COOP (Jay/Livermore Falls) 50,
Madison Area Memorial 48
Thornton Academy 34, Biddeford 21
Traip (Robert W.) Academy 61, Greater Portland
Christian 27
Windham 39, Westbrook 38
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