SOUTH PARIS — During the span of two time outs in the final minute Friday night, the Cony girls’ basketball team drew up a play.

But as well prepared as the Rams tried to be, circumstances changed those plans quickly. Cony had to improvise in a hurry, and the Rams did a pretty effective job of it.

Hayley Quirion fed Emily Sanford in the post for a basket with 22 seconds left to lift Cony to a 38-37 come-from-behind victory over Oxford Hills.

The Rams were behind the entire game and trailed by as many as 10 points.

“We just need to stay optimistic, no matter how much we were down,” said Sanford. “We need to keep our heads up.”

The Vikings seemingly were in control of the game and had a 37-31 lead with three-plus minutes to go. With the lead down to four, Oxford Hills’ standout point guard Abbie Eastman drove to the basket and picked up an offensive foul. Her fall to the floor rolled her ankle with 1:58 remaining.

Eastman went to the bench, taking her team-leading 16 points and ball-handling skills with her. The Vikings then turned the ball over five straight times as Cony rallied for the win.

“Personally, I think she’s one of the best players in the league,” said Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier of Eastman. “It’s tough. The team’s morale was down. It was tough.”

One turnover led to a Josie Lee fast break basket. Another turnover followed that led to a free throw by Emily Quirion, making it 37-36 with 1:02 left.

The Vikings tried to set up a play for a basket or a foul but turned the ball over again with 42 seconds left. Both teams took timeouts, and the Rams set up a play.

“Our play didn’t work,” said Cony coach Karen Magnusson. “That was the girls.”

Hayley Quirion dribbled on the perimeter and took the ball down the right side. When she drew the defense over, she fed Sanford across the paint for an easy layup.

“I knew she’d find me,” said Sanford. “I was nervous about the pass coming to me, but I knew I’d make it because I was so close to the basket. I was just happy that I got the pass.”

After the Vikings turned the ball over again, Cony gave it back with seven seconds left. Oxford Hills tried for a last shot. Alex Rowe dribbled down the court but couldn’t draw a foul or get a final shot off. It led to another turnover.

“We just needed anything,” said Pelletier. “We were praying for anything. My girls battled. At the end, we had the ball with seven seconds left. We were hoping to get a shot off, and we didn’t get a shot off. We gave ourselves a chance to win and just didn’t get it done.”

Mia Diplock led the Rams (3-0) 13 points while Emily Quirion added seven. In addition to Eastman’s 16, Rowe added eight.

“I’ll be honest, I thought we had them beat,” said Pelletier. “Things happened and we didn’t. They kept playing hard. They did what they had to do to win, and I give them credit.”

Oxford Hills (2-1) opened a 19-10 lead in the first quarter. Eastman led the charge with eight points, including a pair of 3’s. The Vikings shot just 6-for-34 the rest of the way.

Cony was hampered with foul trouble early. Lee and Melanie Guzman both picked up early fouls and drew their fourth fouls early in the final quarter. Still, the Rams were able to chip away at the lead and stay within reach.

“It was really hard,” said Magnusson. “We had to do a lot of different defenses that we don’t usually put in to keep players on the court. That didn’t work. So we were constantly subbing.”

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