NAPLES -As Dawn Ross went sprawling to the floor, her awkward offering to the basket had a softer landing through the twine.

That first basket of the decisive fourth quarter only signified what was to come for the Gray-New Gloucester girls’ basketball team. Trying to overcome a strong Lake Region third quarter, everything that went up for the Patriots came down in their favor as G-NG burst away in that final quarter to a 53-41 win over the Lakers.

“We knew we had to come out in the fourth quarter really strong,” said Ross. “Once we start hitting a few shots, we get more and more momentum.”

After Ross hit her heave to start the quarter, the Patriots hit their first six shots as part of a 12-0 run. While G-NG came out hot, the Lakers struggled, missing its first seven from the floor. The inside game that had been so successful in a third-quarter surge for the Lakers suddenly disappeared, and Lake Region was left to live off the outside shot that wouldn’t fall.

“That was good help defense,” said G-NG coach Ken Butler. “We try to limit their touches and see what they can do. It’s a team effort, and they work well together.”

Josalee Danieli led the Patriots (14-1), ranked second in the latest Western B standings, with 14 points. Ross added 13. Those two combined for 10 of G-NG’s 12 points in that fourth-quarter run.

“You put the ball in Dawn’s hands and give her some room and see what she can do,” said Butler.

After Ross hit the first shot, Danieli scored eight straight. She hit a quick turn-around shot just 35 seconds after Ross’s basket. That quickly turned the momentum and allowed the Patriots to dictate the pace. Danieli then scored on a baseline move, converted a Katie Skilling’s pass and hit a short jumper for a 40-31 lead. Skilling added a jumper of her own for an 11-point advantage with 4:30 left.

“They’re so composed,” said Lake Region coach Dan Leland, whose third-ranked team lost to G-NG 42-35 earlier this month. “They’re just a quality team, and they know how to hold onto a lead. We’re young, and we don’t really know hot to handle it. There’s only been three games where we’ve been behind.”

The Lakers got 10 from Samantha Allen and eight from Carolyn Ellis. Though the Lakers were behind for much of the game, a strong third put them in the lead. Ellis scored all of her points during that stretch as the Lakers battled some foul trouble. The Lakers momentum was short-lived, however.

“The third quarter is always a little rusty for us,” said Ross. “We always try to rush things. We knew the fourth quarter, they were up by one. We had to slow things down and run our offense and work for what we could get instead of rushing things.”

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