TOPSHAM

With the biggest crowd of the season looking on, Brunswick forward Madeline Suhr knew that her Dragons needed to get off to a good start on the road against “Battle of the Bridge” rival Mt. Ararat on Saturday.

A 15-2 first quarter certainly did the trick, and the Dragons remained steady from there for a 52-35 Kennebec

Valley Athletic Conference girls basketball win.

“We wanted to win this really bad, and came out really hard and started well,” said Suhr, who had 13 points, five rebounds, four blocked shots, six steals and three assists. “The start was good and everyone was supportive. We all have great chemistry and play really well together. It always feels good to beat Mt. Ararat.”

The Dragons improved to 6-4 with their third straight win, while the Eagles dropped their third consecutive contest to fall to 4-7. Mt. Ararat hosts Edward Little on Tuesday, while Brunswick is also at home on Tuesday against Mt. Blue.

Brunswick forward Julia Champagne dominated, finishing with a game-high 23 points, with seven boards, four steals and three assists.

What a start!

There was little that went right for the Eagles in the opening frame. Champagne scored four quick points, and a 3-pointer by Emily Black gave the Dragons a 7-0 lead and forced a quick Mt. Ararat timeout.

“We made some dumb mistakes that we have to get over, but we are very young, and they have to learn to step up and make the plays,” said Mt. Ararat coach Andy Morris. “Champagne is a great player. There is just stuff that we need to work on.”

An Allison Melcher basket got Mt. Ararat on the board shortly after the teams returned to the court, but the Dragons closed the quarter on an 8-0 run for a 15-2 lead. Champagne had nine points, while Black chipped in four.

“That starting group plays so well together, and when the ball moves and all five kids move, it is a lot easier to play offense and defense,” said Brunswick coach Sam Farrell. “We wanted to come out and set a tone, and if you come out punching first it is hard for them to punch back.”

Mt. Ararat found its legs in the second quarter as Kate Guerin went hard to the basket for four points, while Sara Lamb swished a trey.

But, Suhr scored seven points in the quarter as the Dragons carried a 28-13 advantage into the intermission.

Brunswick began the third quarter strong, going on an 8-1 run for a 36-14 lead. Champagne scored six of those points, and Black swished a 3-point dagger late in the frame to give the Dragons a 43-19 lead heading to the fourth.

Down 48-24 after a pair of Champagne free throws, Mt. Ararat made a run. Lamb nailed back-to-back 3-pointers, and Nikki Bradstreet converted a three-point play for a 9-0 run to get the Eagles to 48-33 with 3:30 remaining.

“That is one of the things that I am most proud of them for, because when you think it is over and look down the bench and all of the sudden boom, boom, boom things start to work,” said Morris. “We showed a lot of character, we just couldn’t do it today.”

Any hopes of a miraculous comeback were ended moments later when Suhr put back her own missed shot, with Champagne finishing her big night with a steal and a basket.

Black finished with seven points, two assists and two steals for Brunswick, which shot 32 percent (19-of-56) from the field and made 10- of-19 from the charity stripe. The Dragons outrebounded the Eagles, 28-22.

Lamb scored nine of her team-high 12 points in the fourth, with Guerin adding 10 points and four steals. Bradstreet pulled down six rebounds, dished out three assists and had three steals.

The Eagles were 14-of-46 (30 percent) from the field and just 4-of-10 from the freethrow line.

Brunswick 52,
Mt. Ararat 35

Saturday at Topsham
Brunswick — 15 13 15 9 — 52
Mt. Ararat — 2 11 6 16 — 35
Brunswick — Julia Champagne 7-9-
23, Madeline Suhr 6-0-13, Emily
Black 2-1-7, Gillian Doehring 2-0-4,
Adrianna White 1-0-2, Kolby
Levesque 1-0-3, Sabrina Armstrong
0-0-0, Aidan Sachs 0-0-0, Heather
Kinee 0-0-0, Brianna Newton 0-0-0,
Alicia Armstrong 0-0-0, Margaret
Dickinson 0-0-0. Totals — 19-10-52.
Mt. Ararat — Lauren Sturgess 1-0-2,
Sara Lamb 4-1-12, Kate Guerin 5-0-
10, Nikki Bradstreet 1-1-3, Allison
Melcher 2-1-5, Eliza Hodge 0-0-0,
Lauren Labbay 0-1-1, Taylor Wienckowski 1-0-2, Katelyn Cox 0-0-0.
Totals — 14-4-35.
3-point field goals — (B) Black 2,
Suhr, Levesque; (MtA) Lamb 3.
Records — Brunswick 6-4, Mt.
Ararat 4-7.
Up next for the Dragons — Tuesday
at home against Mt. Blue, 7 p.m.
Up next for the Eagles — Tuesday at
home versus Edward Little, 7 p.m.