RUMFORD – There was a plan in place, and for more than 18 minutes, the Mountain Valley girls’ basketball team executed it.

However, the momentum shifted midway through the third quarter and the Falcons lost their composure.

Margo Russell scored 14 of her game-high 20 points as Madison remained unbeaten with a 48-31 victory in a game at Puiia Gymnasium on Friday.

Mountain Valley (2-2) was hoping to have a good showing and establish itself as a contender in the MVC.

The Falcons opened with a 1-2-2 zone to slow down the tempo and planned to adjust as the action progressed.

Russell has been the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, and the Falcons had to work hard on the boards to eliminate second and third opportunities.

“Yes, we played a real good first half,” Falcons coach Rich Allen said. “But the team has to learn how to play the entire 32 minutes. We were playing well on the defensive, but things went awry on the offensive end, and Russell started moving.”

The teams traded baskets before Bulldogs guard Danielle Hebert (10 points) scored on a fast break for a 23-20 lead. Falcon junior forward Vanessa Cayer scored on an offensive rebound, but that was as close as Mountain Valley would come.

Russell scored seven unanswered points, including a trey, and Madison (4-0) led 30-23 with two minutes left in the third quarter.

“We went to a 1-2-2 zone,” Madison coach Al Veneziano said. “Plus, we talked to Margo about moving more and becoming more aggressive. She had been bumped in the first half and didn’t get in to the flow of the game.”

Mountain Valley committed seven turnovers in the first half, but turned the ball over eight times in the third quarter. They made only three of 11 shots.

Baskets by Meagan Maifeld and Lauren LePage pulled the Falcons to within 34-24 at the end of the third period. LePage had 11 rebounds.

“We made the shot from the outside,” Veneziano said. “Mountain Valley had been driving to the basket in the first half, but the different looks helped us because the shots were not falling.”

Mountain Valley shot 75 percent and pulled ahead 12-4 on baskets by Cayer, Christine Volkernick and Kate Thorne. Tanya Martin scored three times to give Mountain Valley an 18-17 halftime lead.

Madison shot 48 percent and committed 14 turnovers.