LIVERMORE FALLS – Frank Donald emphasized to his girls’ basketball team last week that they were embarking on a pretty rigorous and crucial part of their Mountain Valley Conference schedule.

“It’s a great year in the MVC,” said the Livermore Falls coach. “About every night, you’ve got to bring it. I told them starting with Lisbon the other night, that we were in the middle of a playoff-type caliber thing. You’ve got to win four games in the tournament if you’re going to go to the big dance. I said that we’ve got to win some of these.”

The Andies beat Lisbon, but has since dropped two straight, including a 36-32 battle with Carrabec Thursday. The Cobras rallied from a 30-26 deficit and finished the game with a 10-2 run and seven straight points.

Carrabec did that after losing junior guard Alicha Stoddard to a knee injury in the first half. She still led the Cobras (8-4) with nine points. Megan Murray had seven while Becca Bergeron added six.

“In six games this year, I’ve had at least six different leading scorers,” said Carrabec coach Scott Jones. “Alicha, by far, is our leading scorer because she has more points than the rest of the team, but we’re pretty balanced.”

Livermore Falls (6-6) got 12 from Kendra Lyman and 10 from Kathryn Ventrella. Lyman was battling an illness and the Andies lost veteran guard Missi O’Connor and forward Annika Durrell to fouls in the fourth.

“They were letting them play pretty good,” said Donald. “I think they probably rose to that level of physical ball better than we did. They were coming to the passing lanes and being a little more aggressive. We were a little more tentative with the passes. We played hard, but we didn’t match their intensity.”

The teams went to the final quarter tied 26-26. Though O’Connor fouled out in the first minute of the quarter, the Andies took a quick four-point lead. Ventrella hit a 3-pointer and later added a free throw to make it 30-26.

“A big shot by a freshman,” said Donald of Ventrella’s 3-pointer.

After a Megan Murray free throw, she converted a fast break basket to get the Cobras within 30-29 with 4:15 left. Hannah Therrien scored off a steal to put Livermore up 32-29 with 3:24 left, but it would be the last points the Andies would score.

“Missi does a lot for us,” said Donald, whose team shot 2-for-14 in the fourth. “Without her out there, it’s hard. She knows whose open, and she does a good job finding the right kids.”

Carrabec tied the game with a 3-pointer by Bergeron with 3:10 left. The Cobras didn’t allow another point and scored the rest of their baskets at the free-throw line.

“The biggest thing with us compared to past years is they understand that it’s a game of runs,” said Jones. “In past years, or even earlier this season, teams would go on a little run, and we’d slump our shoulders and get down on ourselves a little. They now understand that they can dig a little deeper and fight a little harder to get a another run.”

Kara Hebert hit single free throws in three separate trips to the line to make it 35-32. The Andies had shots from Ventrella, Lake and Lyman for the tying 3-pointer but missed. Murray added a free throw with six seconds left.

“We got some good looks, but they just didn’t go,” said Donald.