RUMFORD — Boothbay settled in to a rhythm and made things count at the right moments Friday night in its season-opening 43-23 victory over Mountain Valley in a Mountain Valley Conference girls’ basketball game at Puiia Gymnasium.
Boothbay’s Page Brown led all scorers with 17 points and the Seahawks controlled the pace while relying on a stout defense to rally back from an early deficit.
The combination of mistakes and poor shooting proved to be Mountain Valley’s undoing as it was unable to wade through the Seahawks’ series of defenses. The Falcons were led on offense by Liza White, who scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half.
Boothbay overcame a slow start with an inside presence and a quick transition game that produced multiple high-percentage shots to erase a five-point deficit.
“Once we settled in, then things were OK. But, I think it was nerves,” Boothbay coach Tanner Grover said, referring to the slow start. ”We were able to convert off our transition game. Then we were able to start executing in the second quarter.”
Boothbay entered the second frame trailing 9-4, but it proved to be short-lived. Forward Faith Blethen (seven points, eight rebounds) scored two baskets, including a 3-pointer from the left side, and Brown added two baskets in the paint during the 12-2 run.
Mountain Valley (0-1) missed its first five shots and turned the ball over four times before Abby Mazza buried a jumper with 2:01 remaining in the first half.
”Boothbay is a good team. We have a long way to go,” Mountain Valley coach Ryan Casey said. ”We lost a lot. We have some seniors who will need to step up and fill some roles.”
The Falcons received a boost from Emily Laubauskas, who is starting after having been a sixth man the previous two seasons. She snared 11 rebounds and had several steals. Mountain Valley suffered a blow when Ashley Russell injured an ankle in the second quarter and was sidelined until the fourth quarter.
Boothbay (41 percent shooting) started out the third quarter on fire, with Kate Friant draining a trey and also scoring in the paint. Mountain Valley trailed 24-11 before White scored.
”The execution could always be better,” Grover said. ”We dealt with adversity during preseason with girls injured. Mountain Valley has a good team and it’s tough to play in this gym.”
Blethen sank a pair of free throws to double the lead, and a pair of baskets by Nicole Clarke gave Boothbay a 31-17 lead after three quarters.
”We were average defensively and below average on offense,” Casey said.
The Falcons turned the ball over 25 times and shot 25 percent from the field (10 of 40).
Mountain Valley opened the game with a Russell basket and a trey by Julia Perry, who was inured last season. Russell assisted on baskets by Mazza and White to give the Falcons a 9-4 lead after one quarter.
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