By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

If they’re going to get to Bangor this weekend, the Blue Devils intended to run their way there.

One thing the Lewiston girls’ basketball team has learned this season is if it plays its game, it can be successful. So that’s what the Blue Devils hope to do Tuesday night in their 6:30 p.m. Eastern Maine Class A preliminary game with Hampden.

“Sometimes its easy to stay back and slow it down,” said Lewiston coach Jim Hood. “For us, we’ve got to put the pedal to the floor and start running. A lot of teams aren’t used to that.”

When eighth-ranked Lewiston (11-7) gets mucked down into a halfcourt affair, it muddles through the slow play. When they’re on the run, the Blue Devils typically have the upper hand. Lewiston wants to use its defensive pressure and speed to its advantage.

Lewiston lost to ninth-ranked Hampden (11-7) on the road late in the regular season, 33-31. Hood hopes having the home court this time works in his team’s favor.

“You never know when you travel two hours,” said Hood. “You never know how the girls are going to handle it. When you’re looking at your own rim, it makes it a little easier.”

The previous meeting was a defensive match. Hood hopes the defense is still there, but is accompanied by a little more offense. A strong performance by the transition game should help that.

“We both played pretty good defense,” he said. “It’s a matter of which team can get some offense. We want to push things defensively a little and score some more points.”

Fourth-ranked Mt. Blue was expecting a preliminary game with John Bapst. It wasn’t until the final Heal Points came out that the Cougars realized they drew Gardiner instead. That game has already been moved to Wednesday, part of a doubleheader with the boys.

The Tigers (8-10) ended Mt. Blue’s season last year in a prelim. This year’s Cougar club hopes things will be different.

“Last year, we were seeded ninth,” said Mt. Blue coach Jeannine Paradis. “We didn’t have a home game. We had some team chemistry issues. We just didn’t come out to play. We weren’t ready to play.”

The Cougars beat the Tigers, 47-27, in December.

The young Cougars expectations have been growing and a 15-3 record in the regular season only enhanced those hopes. Mt. Blue enters the prelim wanting to prove it deserves more.

“They all know that any team we play will be an upset in terms of Heal Points,” said Paradis. “They know we can’t go in cocky. We’re still in that process of developing. We still have a lot to prove.”

Seventh-ranked Oxford Hills (13-5) hosts 10th-seeded Brunswick (7-11) tonight at 6 p.m. The Vikings beat the Dragons, 65-39, in early January. Oxford Hills played extremely well in that victory, while Brunswick struggled.

“We played very well against them, but it’s going to be very different,” said Oxford Hills coach Craig Jipson. “They’re a different team. We’re a different team. Both teams are real athletic. There’s a little soccer and softball blood there. It’s going to be interesting. They have a great group of athletes, and we’ll see what happens.”

Brunswick did beat teams ahead of them like Hampden and Lewiston. The Dragons’ top threat, Lindsay Hammond, was held to just nine points against the Vikings.

“They were an 8-10 team last year, and had most people and coming back,” said Jipson. “I know they expected to be higher, but they’ll be happy to get to Bangor as will we.”