RUMFORD — There is always plenty of drama when the Dirigo and Mountain Valley girls’ basketball teams get together on a Wednesday night at Puiia Gymnasium.

Senior Jane Hebert stole the ball and drove in for the go ahead layup as the Cougars fought back for a 31-28 put-it-together triumph against Mountain Valley in an MVC tilt. The Falcons had swept their arch-rivals last season, but Dirigo came in with a different mindset and it paid off.

Dirigo (6-2) led through out the game, but found itself trailing 28-27 following a basket by McKenzie Paterson and a turnover on the ensuing possession gave the Falcons the ball. Hebert (10 points, four assists, five steals) swiped the ball from point guard Lindsay Gallant and dribbled in for the bunny.

“This is and was a high-stressed game,”Hebert said. “But it’s fun because it’s a rival and on this floor in this environment. Down the stretch, we needed to control the ball.”

Mountain Valley (4-4) had come to life in the fourth quarter behind Gallant (11 points, four assists) who made a basket and a 3-pointer to take a short-lived lead. But the Falcons missed their final six shots. “We certainly had our chances,” Mountain Valley coach Rich Allen said. “We had some good looks and Ayla (Allen) drove to the basket from the elbow like we talked about. We held our own and did all right against their zone. We didn’t start slow and only allowed (24 points through three quarters).”

Dirigo’s Trish Turner missed the front end of a one and one with 29 seconds left. MV missed a shot and Ricki Sinclair grabbed a rebound and was fouled. Sinclair calmly sank a pair of free throws.

There was seven combined fouls in 29-plus minutes, but nine in the final two minutes. Dirigo did not shoot a free throw until making three of five in the fourth quarter.

“We started with a 2-3 zone,” Hebert said. “We knew we needed to stop the inside game and put pressure on their guards. In the end, we kept our heads.”

Mountain Valley shot 27 percent from the floor and made three of five free throws. and Emily Knapp (seven points, five rebounds) scored two offense baskets in the third quarter as the Falcons trailed by three points three times. Breana Roberts had five rebounds.

Dirigo (turnovers) was deliberate on offense and Hannah Knight made three baskets en route to a 24-21 lead at halftime. The Cougars shot 46 percent from the floor.

“This was a total team effort,” Dirigo coach Reggie Weston said. “We did some good things and it was nice getting good production from Paige Murphy and Alyssa Wade off the bench.”

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