LISBON FALLS – There’s no doubt that the Telstar girls’ basketball team boasts two of the best players in the Mountain Valley Conference.

Bailey Davis and Josie Reiss are both among league leaders in scoring and provide a one-two punch that can beat many teams by themselves.

Saturday, Telstar needed more Rebels with a cause, and got key contributions from others to survive with a 38-34 win over Lisbon.

Davis had 13 points while Reiss had six, but the Rebels only scored 11 points in the second half. Lisbon’s superb defensive effort and foul trouble hampered Telstar. Still, the Rebels got clutch plays down the stretch.

Kayla Merrill had a 3-pointer that boosted the lead back to 10 points. She also hit two late free throws in the closing seconds to double the Rebels lead. Merrill finished with nine points.

“She had a huge 3 and hit two foul shots at the end,” said Telstar coach Kelly Dole. “She’s a freshman that’s really come along and doing some nice stuff for us.”

Junior forward Brianna Douglass had two free throws in the final minute that turned a 33-29 lead into a 35-29 advantage. She also had a critical rebound of a missed free throw with Telstar up 36-34.

“Brianna was huge on the rebounding end and hitting the two free throws at the end,” said Dole.

Esther Pew and Vicki Rice also chipped in and were a key part of Telstar opening a 27-15 lead at the half. Telstar (9-5) executed offensively and matched a solid defensive effort to race ahead.

Lisbon (8-6) was plagued by missed shots from the floor and foul line. The Greyhounds shot 1-for-9 in the second quarter and 3-for-13 in the third.

“We missed a good amount of high quality shots, and we didn’t get the job done from the foul line,” said Lisbon coach Jake Gentle. “I think we were 11-for-23. They made theirs down the stretch. We made ours in the fourth quarter mostly but didn’t in the first three quarters.”

Christy McAuliffe led Lisbon with nine points while Emily Moore and Stephanie Smith added eight and seven respectively.

Despite being down 33-23 after Merrill’s 3-pointer, the Greyhounds took advantage of its trapping zone, Telstar’s foul trouble and numerous turnovers. Lisbon had six straight points to get within 33-29 before Douglass’ free throws. A rebound by Sam Purcell and free throws by McAuliffe made it 35-33 with 16 seconds left. Emily Moore had a steal and was fouled. She hit one free throw to get within one with 10 seconds left but free throws by Davis and Merrill sealed it.

“I didn’t think we were playing smart in the first half,” said Gentle. “We were making silly mistakes and weren’t moving well without the ball. It was like we were in a daze. In the second half, we tried to play a little smarter but also with that hard effort in play defense.”