LEWISTON — The magic didn’t last long enough for Lewiston.

Less than a week after achieving their first win in more than four years, the Blue Devils set their sights on toppling a likely tourney-bound team in Oxford Hills.

For all of four minutes, it looked possible, until the Vikings’ shots started falling from everywhere.

Crystal West hit a pair of 3-pointers and Abbie Eastman had five of her 11 points in the first quarter as the Vikings bolted out to an 11-point lead and never let it get any closer in a 51-32 triumph over Lewiston.

“The way this league is, anything can happen, and we wanted to make sure the girls were ready to play today,” Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier said.

It was a far cry from the 35-point margin of victory in the teams’ previous meeting — their mutual season-opener — and that, coupled with a win over Lawrence on Monday left the Blue Devils with a better feeling.

“I was hoping, coming off the win, we’d play a little bit better,” Lewiston coach Mike McGraw said, “although, if you saw the first game between these two teams, and then saw this game, we’ve come a long way. I’m pretty happy with the progress. Now we have to get over the hump”

The Vikings are a much younger squad than in years past, and this season has been a growing experience for many of the players who are stepping into varsity roles for the first time. They spread the ball around well Friday, getting 12 from Alex Rowe, 11 from Eastman, 10 from West and nine from Brooke Murch in the victory.

“We have a game again (Saturday), and the plan was to get everyone involved, and get the kids some rest,” Pelletier said. “And to get them that experience, in the long run, that helps.”

The teams locked horns on defense in the first quarter. Oxford Hills struck first with a traditional three-point play from Eastman, followed by a Lewiston bucket from Brie Wilson in the opening minute. It took three more minutes before anyone else found the hoop.

“I told them during warm-ups, ‘If you get a shot, take it,'” Pelletier said. “And they were. It was like there was a cover on that thing. But then a timeout was called, and we told them to keep shooting.”

When the Vikings started finding their range, it was all but over. West drained a trey, Jannessa Talarico (10 points) responded for Lewiston and then Oxford Hills rattled off nine in a row to close out the first quarter.

“We set a tone,” Pelletier said. “We had a couple of things that happened, rebounding-wise, that we need to work on, but, other than that, we played hard, and I thought we played a good game.”

Oxford Hills extended its lead by only a point in the second, prompting an adjustment or two at the half.

“At the end of the half, we had a breakdown on defense, so I was actually a little upset,” Pelletier said. “We talked about what we needed to do defensively, and not to let this team get back into it.”

To quell any thought of a Lewiston comeback, Oxford Hills shot out of the gate in the third with an 8-1 run, extending the lead to 19. That lead swelled to 22 by quarter’s end before Lewiston outscored the Vikings by three in the final frame, capped by an 11-1 run to close out the game.