By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – The choice was pretty clear.

With Friday’s game tied at the half, the Lewiston girls’ basketball team had two options against Waterville. It could either play with the aggressiveness it had in the first quarter or play passively as it did in the second quarter.

“I basically challenged them,” said Lewiston coach Jim Hood. “I said, This is your game if you want it. It’s 20-20, and anyone’s game. They’re a good team. They’re pretty athletic, but we’re more athletic, and we should be able to do this.'”

The Blue Devils answered the call and outlasted a game Purple Panther team in a 52-46 victory.

It was the fourth straight win for the Blue Devils (5-4).

“Since the beginning of the season, I feel like we’re finally coming together and clicking as a team,” said Lewiston guard Caitlin Anthoine. “We’re all putting in our two cents now.”

Lewiston burst out to an 18-5 lead in the first quarter only to let Waterville (3-6) scratch its way back. Though Waterville took the lead in the fourth quarter, Lewiston jumped back ahead and held off a late charge.

“We just can’t get down 18-5 in the first quarter,” said Waterville coach Julie Bradstreet. “That just leaves too much to chance when that happens.”

Anthoine finished with 13 points for Lewiston while Kelsey Varney added 11. Kim Bechard and Tracy Bradley each had eight. Shelley Gagne led Waterville with 16, and Danae Plaisted added 14.

Waterville took a 39-38 lead with 6:28 left in the game when Gagne hit a jumper. A Bradley steal and fast break put Lewiston back ahead. After a Bradley block on Waterville’s end, Lewiston got a short jumper from Mallory Long for a 42-39 lead with 3:51 left.

Waterville had a chance to get within one on a Megan Willette steal, but she missed the layup. The Blue Devils came right back in transition and got a 3-pointer from Varney for a 45-39 lead with 1:58 left.

“I was trying to tell her to kick it out and hold on,” said Hood. “She didn’t hear me. She just canned it anyway. It was a good shot, and it made a big difference and was a big swing for us.”

Waterville kept coming. A steal by Plaisted and a 3-pointer from Willette made it 48-46 with 21 seconds left, but free throws from Anthoine and Varney sealed it.

Lewiston hit five of its first six shots of the game and raced ahead thanks to strong defense and fine execution offensively. Waterville settled in and rallied in the second quarter as Lewiston shot 0-for-15 from the floor.

“We just wanted to come out strong and make sure we got the tempo started up,” said Anthoine of the second half. “We didn’t want to give them confidence.”

Lewiston was effective on the boards and played with poise down the stretch. Waterville was tentative offensively and had five turnovers in the final quarter.

“I felt on the board side we had the upper hand,” said Anthoine. “So we knew we just needed to keep our composure and make sure we kept the tempo up and didn’t let them get their game back.”