Buckfield’s Alyssa Litchfield and St Dom’s Rebecca Zimmerman scramble for control of the ball during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

BUCKFIELD — St. Dominic Academy forced 16 first-half turnovers as its suffocating defense led to a 56-24  girls’ basketball win over Buckfield on Thursday night.

Rebecca Zimmerman scored 11 of her game-high 13 in the first half, including two 3-pointers in the first quarter from the same spot on the court. Zimmerman was just one of many Saints who were effective Thursday night, as seven players scored and three reached double digits.

“Rebecca was really good for us offensively and we have a number of girls who can score,” St. Dom’s coach John Yorkey said. “We had a little bit of a slow start there but started to pick it up.”

Mia-Angelina Leslie tallied 10 of her 12 points in the first half, and she pulled down four rebounds in the second quarter alone.

The efficiency on the offensive end led to more and more opportunities for the Saints to press all the way down the court and trap the ball-handler at half-court. The Saints even forced a couple of turnovers off Buckfield inbounds passes.

The Bucks received field goals from five different players in the first half but went stagnant in the second, getting outscored 22-8. It seemed that when Buckfield got the ball over half court they were able to find a good shot at the basket. The problem, though, was crossing the maroon line.

The third quarter was much of the same as Buckfield committed 10 more turnovers. The St. Dom’s size was too much for the Bucks.

“They’re smaller than us, so we are going to take advantage,” Zimmerman said. “We wanted to make sure that they didn’t make it over half(-court).”

Buckfield coach Ryan Wilkins knew it would be a struggle against the lengthy Saints, but the Bucks’ long layoff in between games also didn’t help.

“It’s been 20 days since we’ve played, and I think it showed,” Wilkins said. “We weren’t able to match their speed, not that I necessarily thought we would, but it made it much more apparent. They’ve got a good team with a lot of tough athletes.”

In the third, St. Dom’s went on a 10-0 run to start the quarter. Buckfield didn’t score until there were three minutes remaining in the period., in which the Saints outscored Buckfield 15-6.

“We were getting it inside a lot and we were hoping that when they collapse inside that it would be easier for us to get open shots on the outside,” Zimmerman said. “If we passed it inside it would make it easier for us to post up and use our center, and that helped.”

The Saints’ defense didn’t allow a single point in the final quarter.

St. Dom’s center Sky Rogers had six rebounds and five points.

Buckfield was led by Katy Henderson, who scored six points, followed by Deja Bennett and Siana Jacobs, who each had four points

“We were very supportive of each other and we passed the ball which was nice to see,” Zimmerman said. “The girls on the bench were hype the entire game and I love that, it’s nice to see people smile.”

St’ Dom’s Kailie Bernard goes up for a layup while Buckfield’s Rebecca Zimmermans watches the play for the right during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

St. Dom’s Rebecca Zimmerman shoots the ball as Buckfield’s Molly Bourget keeps her eye on the ball during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

St. Dom’s Raegan Hachey passes the ball to a teammate while being guarded by Buckfield’s Molly Bourget during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

Buckfield’s Josephine Replogie and St. Dom’s Dominique Michaud wrestle for control of the ball during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

St. Dom’s Benedicte Yombe reaches around Buckfield’s Josephine Replogle to pass the ball to a teammate during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)