DIXFIELD — It might take a little to get going, but Jessica Conant is convinced that when the Dirigo girls’ basketball team does, look out for the Cougars.

It was Conant who helped spark a strong run in the second quarter en route to scoring a game high 20 points as the Cougars held firm and remained unbeaten with a 57-27 win over Lisbon in the Mountain Valley Conference on Friday night.

Dirigo (3-0) engineered a 24-5 run from the end of the first quarter until just before halftime to open up a 26-12 lead. MacKenzie Lord started the second quarter with a basket and the onslaught was set in motion. Conant scored seven of the next 10 points, sandwiched around a 3-pointer by Lindy Crutchfield (seven points).

Lisbon was held scoreless until Katelyn Fuller scored from inside with 3:55 left before halftime. Fuller (11 points, seven rebounds, two blocks ) was the Greyhounds main offensive threat.

”We switched from a man-to-man to a full court zone,” Dirigo coach Reggie Weston said. ”The girls love to trap, and if its successful then good things happen. I also left Kelsey Hutchins in there with two fouls. She had started slow, but came on and Lindy is hitting shots to get us going and is making good decisions.”

Dirigo was still riding high after having beat Boothbay Wednesday, on a last-second shot by Crutchfield. Lisbon lost a close game to Boothbay. Lisbon (0-3) made the adjustments and came out in the third quarter by scoring five points by Mikayla Yanez and a Fuller basket, cutting the game to a 26-17 deficit.

”That’s what we needed to start the third quarter,” said Lisbon coach Julie Westcott, who wants the youthful Greyhounds to play fundamentally sound. ”The first half had been a result of our inexperience and we panicked against the Dirigo pressure. We need to learn from it.”

The Greyhounds turned the ball over 13 times in second quarter.

Dirigo scored the final 12 points of the third quarter, to lead 38-17. Hutchins made two free throws, Kelsey Wilson made two baskets and Conant and. Emma Leuders (8 points, six steals) each buried jumpers.

”Dirigo is a good team,” Westcott said. “Lisbon shot itself in the foot by missing its final 14 shots of the third quarter. ”They capitalized on our mistakes.”

Sabrina Daoud and Hutchins each scored six points. It was important to take care of the ball, but Lisbon guards Mia Durgin and Bree Sautter had trouble sifting through the pressure defenses Lisbon committed 36 turnovers and shot 22 percent in the game. Dirigo displayed good ball movement committed 12 turnovers through three quarters.

”We still need to work on things,” Weston said. ”It got to be a little helter-skelter at times, which is not like this team. They have bonded well together.”