WALES — It was a third quarter that featured a lead change, a ton of missed shots, a slight offensive surge and two extra minutes.

It all added up to a double-digit lead for the Oak Hill girls’ basketball team Tuesday. The Raiders then fought off a Gardiner rally in the fourth to secure a 44-34 victory.

“Last year at this time, it was our first loss of the year, and we went on to lose three more in a row,” said Oak Hill coach Tom Morong, whose club is now 2-0. “Maybe we’ve turned the corner here.”

The Tigers had tied the game early in the third. The two teams exchanged a flurry of missed shots, but Oak Hill was still able to get its offense into enough of a groove to build a 33-22 lead by the end of the quarter.

The two teams even got to play a quarter that lasted about 10 minutes. With less than four minutes left, the clock went blank. It was reset with 5:41 left in the quarter, adding about two whole minutes.

“During halftime, coach said we were still up,” said junior guard Darby Beaulieu. “They had hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. They were coming out with momentum, but we still had the lead. Coach told us to ‘Come out like you’re ahead. Don’t play like you’re losing. Play like you’re going to win.'”

Maggie Sabine led the Raiders with 12 points. Jessica Roberts had nine while Beaulieu added eight. The Raiders played a strong defensive game, forcing 16 Gardiner turnovers, and got a fine effort against the Tiger post.  Carly Pelletier finished with nine for Gardiner (0-2) while Jenna Moore had seven.

“Gabby Green and Chassidy Hilchey, they’re both sophomores and undersized players inside,” said Morong. “They had 12 to 14 rebounds between them. When Maggie didn’t get them, they were there to clean things up. I was very pleased with that.”

Both teams had struggled to get the offense going in the first half. Gardiner shot just 6-for-34 while Oak Hill was 4-for-27. When Pelletier put back a rebound to start the third, it tied the game at 17-17. Roberts followed with a 3-pointer.

After a drive by Moore, Beaulieu converted a three-point play on her own rebound to make it 23-19. The Tigers cut the lead to two on a Pelletier score inside, but Abby Goulet hit a fast break basket with 3:53 left in the quarter for a 25-21 lead.

Then with Pelletier at the line, the clock went blank. It was rest, but the time posted was 5:41. Her free throw made it 25-22, but the Tigers didn’t score again in the quarter.

Sabine scored on a leaner and then hit two free throws. Sabine set up Julie Morneault in the corner for a short jumper that made it 31-22. Then Beaulieu added a pair of free throws for the 11-point lead.

“We came out really nervous today,” said Beaulieu. “It was our first home game of the season. It was a big game, and everyone was real jittery. It took us a long time to get a flow.”

Oak Hill shot just 5-for-20 in the quarter, but it was enough. Gardiner hit just 3-of-2o and missed a number of easy layups on fast breaks and rebounds.

“We had open looks — open layups that we just couldn’t finish,” said Gardiner coach Mike Gray. “They stuck a couple of big shots at big times.”

The Tigers rallied in the fourth with an 8-1 run. The Tigers got within 37-30 after a short jumper by Moore with 3:00 left. Roberts answered with a 3 from the corner. Baskets by Kylee Granholm and Pelletier cut it to 40-36, but Sabine, Hilchey and Beaulieu secured the win with free throws.

“You hold Maggie to 12 points, and you think things might go our way, but we just couldn’t hit a shot,” said Gray.  “We had a sense of urgency with four minutes left. We got it to seven, and they hit that one to make it 10. That’s tough to get over.”

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