Graduation and injuries are two things that a high school coach can’t control.

Last season, Mt. Ararat High School girls basketball coach Kelly LaFountain led her team to the Eastern Maine Class A semifinals at the Augusta Civic Center, with four seniors and junior Caitlin LaFountain carrying the load on most nights.

With her daughter Caitlin out with a concussion and point guard Katie Labbay nursing an injured knee, LaFountain has tried to peace her lineup together with youngsters still at least a year away from applying for a driver’s permit.

On Saturday, Lewiston bested the Eagles, 42-31, dropping Mt. Ararat to 0-5, with undefeated Edward Little scheduled to make a visit on Friday at 2:30 p.m.

“On a veteran team, or at least a few kids that have had that experience, they could carry us through a little bit, but honestly I have never said before how young we are, and it is a learning curve, with many making the jump from eighth-grade basketball to varsity,” said coach LaFountain. “It is going to take some time for them to figure out what it is going to take. We’re working and plugging away. We are just waiting for that little bit of luck.”

There was little in the way of luck on Saturday, as the ball oftentimes refused to drop through the rim. Despite a 34-30 rebounding edge, including 10 offensive boards, the Eagles’ hard work didn’t pay off in points.

And, for the second straight game, the second and third quarters were shooting nightmares for Mt. Ararat, which scored a combined 10 points in the middle two frames on Saturday.

“I don’t know if it is because we come out all fired up in the first quarter and have a let down in the second, and I don’t know what it is coming out from halftime,” added the Mt. Ararat coach. “We have to figure that out.”

Devils have hot hands

On the other side, Lewiston had been cursed by late collapses and a buzzer-beater loss to Brunswick in beginning the season 0-4. Against Mt. Ararat, the 1-4 Blue Devils rode the hot hands of Kristina Blais (13 points), Brie Wilson (10) and Jenessa Talarico (10) to earn the win.

“It gets that monkey off our back, and the girls feel like they can get it done,” said Lewiston coach Mike Labonte. “It has been an uphill climb. We have been giving up 60 points a game, and it is hard to get a win when you allow that many points. If we can hold teams in the 30s or 40s, we feel like we can hang around.”

Solid Eagles start

Mt. Ararat darted out to a 6-3 lead as Kate Guerin swished a pair of short jumpers.

Lewiston responded with a 5-0 run, the key basket a hoop-and -harm by Wilson for a three-point play and an 8-6 Lewiston edge.

The Eagles came back, scoring the final six points of the first frame for a 12-8 lead. Guerin and Allison Melcher each had four points for the hosts.

On Thursday in a 53-24 loss to Mt. Blue, Mt. Ararat scored just three points combined in the second and third quarters. Those frames cost the Eagles again on Saturday as Lewiston outscored Mt. Ararat 15-4 in the second to take a 23-16 lead to the half. A key for Lewiston came when Labonte inserted normal starters Talarico and Blais, along with freshman Morgan Eliason. Blais hit Lewiston’s only trey of the game to put the Blue Devils ahead to stay, 13-12, and finished with seven points in the quarter, with Talarico adding six.

“We knew when their number got called they could get it done,” said Labonte.

“We had to grind and really focus on defense,” said Blais of her team’s success in holding Mt. Ararat to a seven-for-31 shooting performance in the first half.

Neither team shot well, or scored much, in the third quarter, playing to a 6-6 stalemate for a 29-22 Lewiston lead heading to the fourth.

“We’re young, and the pressure gets to us. We get those runs and feel we are in it, then we take a break and just can’t get it back up,” said Mt. Ararat’s Sara Lamb.

“Everybody is stepping it up, and we just need to work on meshing together,” added Guerin.

Mt. Ararat made a pair of runs in the final frame, mostly due to hard work in the paint and kicking the ball outside for a trey.

“We have been getting outrebounded every game, something we talk about and work on in practice every day,” said Labonte. “Mt. Ararat does a great job, very physical, and we had to match that and stay in control.”

Lamb’s 3-pointer early in the fourth made it a fourpoint game, 29-25, but Lewiston answered with a field goal each from Wilson and Blais. After Eagles guard Nikki Bradstreet hit from long distance, the Blue Devils clinched things by ending the contest on a 9-3 run, Mt. Ararat’s only points coming on a second Bradstreet trey.

Wilson picked up four steals and seven rebounds, with Talarico pulling down seven caroms. The Blue Devils were 18 of 54 (33 percent) from the floor and five of 11 from the free-throw line.

Lamb and Guerin led Mt. Ararat with eight points each, with Bradstreet adding seven and Melcher six. Lindsey Cornelison pulled down 11 rebounds, with Bradstreet adding eight caroms, three steals and two assists. The Eagles made three of eight from the line and shot 22 percent (12 of 54) from the floor.

Lewiston 42,
Mt. Ararat 31

At Topsham
Lewiston — 8 15 6 13 — 42
Mt.Ararat—12469—31
Lewiston — Cierra St. Amand 0-
0-0, Laurianne Murphy 0-1-1,
Amanda Swart 0-0-0, Maegan
Mathon 2-0-4, Brie Wilson 4-2-
10, Jenessa Talarico 5-0-10, Morgan Eliason 2-0-4, Alasia Branche
0-0-0, Kristina Blais 5-2-13.
Totals 18-5-42.
Mt. Ararat — Sara Lamb 2-2-8,
Kate Guerin 4-0-8, Nikki Bradstreet 2-1-7, Allison Melcher 3-0-
6, Lindsey Cornelison 0-0-0,
Libby Davis 1-0-2, Erin Tome 0-0-
0, Katelyn Cox 0-0-0, Lauren Labbay 0-0-0. Totals — 12-3-31.
3-point field goals — (L) Blais;
(MA) Lamb 2, Bradstreet 2.
Records — Lewiston 1-4, Mt.
Ararat 0-5.
Up next for Mt. Ararat — Friday
at home against Edward Little,
2:30 p.m.