LISBON FALLS
When Kipri Steele darted to the basket and scored to give Lisbon a 26-25 lead midway through the third quarter, Carrabec High School girls basketball coach Skip Rugh called a timeout as the momentum had clearly shifted to the Greyhounds.
From that point on, the Cobras struck back, using a 7-0 run to take the lead and opening the fourth quarter by scoring the first 11 points en route to a 49-37 Mountain Valley Conference victory.
Carrabec (9-6) closed each quarter strong, giving the Cobras added momentum heading into the next phase of the game.
“We came out pretty flat to start, and to close each quarter strong was big for us tonight,” said Rugh, whose Cobras host Winthrop on Friday. “Defensively, we have been playing pretty good but have struggled to put the ball in the hoop.”
Lisbon coach Julie Petrie, who saw her Greyhounds fall to 6-9, knows her team needs to finish strong for a chance at the postseason. Lisbon visits Mt. Abram on Friday.
“They are frustrated. They needed to play an entire game to beat a team like that,” said Petrie. “We were content that we took the lead.”
Steele was a thorn in Carrabec’s side throughout, scoring a team-high 14 points. She led the Greyhounds back from a 24-17 deficit by scoring seven points in a threeminute stretch of the third quarter. She canned the only two 3-pointers of the contest.
“We were getting a lot of our offensive rebounds and we just clicked,” said Steele of her team’s third-quarter run. “After we took the lead we seemed to settle back and it broke our momentum.”
“She has been a consistent player and has tried to expand her game. She is doing well,” said Petrie of Steele, who also had three steals.
Carrabec forward Mickayla Willette was a focus for Lisbon, but her speed in transition caused problems for the Greyhounds. Willette scored seven of her team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter. She also pulled down nine rebounds, dished out six assists and had five steals.
“She is very important and works hard every second,” said Rugh of Willette. “If she is not scoring, she is doing something else.”
“We didn’t want her to get to the paint, but we just didn’t execute in keeping her out of there at times,” added Petrie.
Close for 24
The game went back and forth over the first three quarters. Lisbon grabbed a 9-6 lead in the opening quarter as Steele had four points. Carrabec ran off the quarter’s final four points to claim a 10-9 lead.
In the second quarter, Mel Clark came off the Carrabec bench and went to work. She scored six points in the frame, eight in the first half, as the Cobras closed the half on a 10-1 spurt for a 22-17 halftime lead.
“It was good for her and she needed that confidence,” said Rugh, who also received four points each in the first half from Willette, Liberty Chestnut and Kate Stevens.
Steele had seven first-half points to pace Lisbon.
Bailey Dunphy finished off a pass from Stevens to open the second half for the visitors, but Steele swished a trey, followed by a nice pass from Bree Sautter to Jasmin Le to get the Greyhounds to 24-22.
After Dunphy made 1-of-2 at the free-throw line, Steele scored four quick points for a 26- 25 lead.
“They stopped moving their feet and start- ed watching the ball, so we needed to stop those easy drives and go after the ball,” said Rugh.
After the Carrabec timeout, Chestnut gave the Cobras the lead for good and the Cobras claimed a 32-28 edge after 24 minutes.
Willette drove hard to the basket for two points and a 35- 28 edge, and Stevens made two at the free-throw line after a Lisbon technical foul to make for a nine-point Carrabec lead. The Cobras scored again on their next two possessions (Stevens and Chestnut) to complete an 11-0 fourth-quarter run.
Lisbon refused to quit, getting four points down the stretch from Mallory Fairbanks and three free throws from Sautter.
Steele knows what her team needs to do.
“We are hoping to win all of our remaining games and get into the playoffs. I think we can do it,” said the Lisbon junior.
Fairbanks and Le had eight points each. Sautter had six rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Kaylin Le picked up five steals for the hosts.
Stevens added 11 points for Carrabec, with Chestnut finishing with 10. Dunphy led the Cobras with six steals.
Carrabec 49, Lisbon 37
At Lisbon Falls
| Carrabec | — 10 | 12 | 10 | 17 | — | 49 | ||
| Lisbon | — | 9 | 8 | 11 | 9 | — | 37 |
Carrabec — Bailey Atwood 0-0-0, Liberty Chestnut 5-0-10, Mickayla Willette 5-4-14, Bailey Dunphy 2-2-6, Kate Stevens 2-7-11, Bianca Beaulieu 0-0-0, Mel Clark 4-0-8. Totals — 18- 13-49. Lisbon — Mallory Fairbanks 4-0-8, Kaylin Le 0-3-3, Bee Sautter 0-3-3, Kipri Steele 6-0-14, Jasmin Le 4-0-8, Kate Philbrick 0-0-0, Valerie Doucette 0-0-0, Ali Sult 0-0-0, Bree Daigle 0-1-1. Totals — 14-7-37. 3-point field goals — (L) Kipri Steele 2. Records — Carrabec 9-6, Lisbon 6-9. Up next for the Greyhounds — Friday at Mt. Abram, 7 p.m.
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