BUCKFIELD — Heidi Deery probably could have used her halftime speech to tell her girls “I told you so.”

That’s because the Rangeley girls’ basketball coach had warned her Lakers to expect a battle out of Buckfield Tuesday. When the Lakers didn’t heed that warning, they struggled through the first half and were only up by five at halftime.

“I knew it,” said Deery. “It was senior night. It was Ashlee Hamann’s last night. I told them last night in practice. I told them this morning, ‘Listen, they’re going to come to play, and they’re not going to lay down.'”

The Bucks (1-15) did put up a fight early and stayed within reach the entire first half, but the Lakers settled down in the second half and took care of business. Rangeley expanded on the halftime lead and pulled away for a 51-28 victory. It was the sixth straight win for the Lakers (10-5), which have now moved up to fourth in Western D after starting the year 0-2.

“We knew we had to play as a team, and we weren’t really collectively together,” said junior guard Allie Hammond. “We talked in the locker-room and coach told us to work together and move the ball.”

Hammond finished with 24 points for the Lakers while sophomore forward Chantal Carrier added 19. Hamann led the Bucks with 15 points.

The Lakers were plagued by turnovers and poor shooting in the opening half. Rangeley had 20 turnovers and shot just 8-for-23 in the first half. Buckfield had 17 turnovers and shot just 4-for-18 but was still able to keep pace. A 3-pointer by Hamann and a basket off a steal kept the Bucks within three twice in the second. A rebound hoop by Alanna Lauter provided the five-point cushion.

“We didn’t come out together and then we stepped it up,” said Carrier. “We changed things at halftime, and it definitely helped.”

The Lakers weren’t playing together in the first half. There was little cohesiveness in their offensive game. What Deery instructed her players to do in the second half was to move the ball around and try to execute that way.

“I just drew a play at halftime because I could see they were trying to force stuff and weren’t making good passes,” said Deery.  “I said, ‘We’re going to run this offense and everybody is a shooter.’ When everybody helps then they feel like they can start playing. I told them that we can’t be a bunch of individuals out there. Everybody’s got to help, and we need everyone to run the offense.”

The Lakers looked like a new team in the third quarter. They settled things down and moved the ball effectively in the half-court. They cut down on turnovers and got better shots. Two quick baskets in the paint by Carrier made it 20-11 in the first minute. After a Hamann basket, Rangeley ran off six straight on a basket and two free throws by Hammond and a jumper by Carrier.

“We knew we had to stop Ashlee Hamann, and we knew we needed to score and stop the turnovers,” said Carrier.

Rangeley kept the score around double digits the rest of the third. Buckfield was able to get it to 10 twice in the fourth before a 14-1 run to end the game extended the lead.

“Coming down here, they had nothing to lose,” said Hammond. “We knew we just needed to settle in.”