SOUTH BERWICK — Natalie Herbold paced a balanced offense with 10 points as Marshwood defeated Wells 51-27 in a girls’ basketball game Thursday night.

Herbold was one of five Marshwood players to score at least six points as the Hawks improved to 5-0.

“We can beat anyone with (a balanced attack). We can put anyone in, (opponents) can’t shut down one person because anyone can go in and score,” said Herbold.

Casey Perry and Nathalie Clavette each scored nine points, Celine Lawrence contributed eight (all in the first quarter) and Miranda Montgomery scored six.

“It helps when one girl is having a tough night, we have somebody else who can step up and (score),” said Marshwood Coach Steve Freeman.

Lawrence buried back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Hawks an early 6-0 lead.

Clavette, a junior guard, nailed a pair of 3s and also converted a three-point play as she scored all of her points in the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t shoot well tonight at all, but it’s nice to be able to go to the bench and have kids you can count on,” said Freeman.

Ten players scored for Marshwood.

“We’re so deep, all of those kids can play varsity basketball, every kid we have,” said Freeman.

Wells (2-3) stayed close through the first quarter. It was 12-11 after Franny Ramsdell knocked down a 3 from the corner late in the first. But the Warriors were held to two points in the second quarter and fell behind 22-13.

“We were at 16-13 for a while, and I would’ve liked to stay there for a while longer. We just got a little too panicky, offensively,” said Wells Coach Don Abbott.

Ramsdell finished with a game-high 11 points.

Freeman was please with his team’s defensive adjustments.

“We had a couple (defensive) breakdowns in the first quarter, but the girls really cleaned it up in the second quarter. It made a big difference,” said Freeman.

“(After the first quarter) we had good help (defense). (In the first quarter) we were following our man too much, getting lost. We started to slide in, it was a good team effort,” said Herbold.

Marshwood broke it open in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Warriors 18-5.

“We scored a lot, but we still weren’t hitting our shots. In the future, if we can score like that and hit our outside shots, we’re going to be in good shape,” said Herbold.

Free-throw shooting continued to be a problem for Wells, which was 5 for 13.

“On a night like tonight, our margin for error was pretty small. We had to play better than we did to have a chance against a quality team like (Marshwood). Those free throws help because, next thing you know, it’s a six- or eight-point game instead of a 14-point game,” said Abbott.

Anya Chase scored seven points for Wells.

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