DIXFIELD — Mountain Valley came through when it counted in Tuesday night in a girls’ basketball game against Dirigo

A pair of runs by the energized offense and a solid defensive effort helped carry the Falcons a thrilling 52-30 triumph against Dirigo at Defoe Gymnasium.

Mountain Valley was led by Liza White who scored a game-high 19 points and had eight rebounds as the inside presence and a quick transition game produced multiple high percentage shots.

The opposite occurred for winless Dirigo, which missed 38 of 52 shots and turned the ball over 27 times.

“We feel good about our performance, tonight,” Mountain Valley coach Ryan Casey said. “We were able to do some positive things. But Dirigo put up a good fight and the final score certainly was not indicative of the play.”

Mountain Valley had scored six of the first seven points in the third quarter to take a 27-16 lead behind a basket by Sydney Petrie (eight points, seven rebounds) and two by White. Dirigo trimmed the deficit with baskets by, Sabrina Daoud (nine points) and Emma Leuders (eight points), but a series of turnovers prevented it from making a run.

“We had worked on our transition game in practice,” said White, who suffered an injured ankle, but gallantly returned to action. “We talked about wanting to get out on the wings and running. We have a lot of respect for the Dirigo program.”

The Falcons refused to let up, and Karen Flaherty fed a cutting Emily Billings (six points) for a layup. Petrie and Flaherty each added baskets for a 37-22 lead after three quarters

“In the third quarter, the girl’s rotated to our strength, said Casey, who utilized several different combinations to disrupt the Cougars.  “We know the Dirigo players because the girl’s have played against each other for years.”

Dirigo made its first shot of the fourth quarter and had two steals, but missed eight-straight shots and had nine turnovers, in the final period.

Mountain Valley answered with an 8-0 run, Billings and Ashley Russell each scored on the run. White added twice in the paint.

Dirigo coach Karen Magnusson said players are learning new positions and they lack depth. Lauren Henderson scored seven points for the Cougars.

Emily Laubauskas provided a spark off the bench with five steals, a basket and two rebounds as the Falcons scored three baskets to lead 19-9 with 5:35 remaining in the second quarter.

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