LEWISTON—Cassidy Dumont quickly discovered that her strong defensive performances as a rookie earned her more playing time on the basketball court.

The Oxford Hills junior has plied her trade well. Dumont and senior Cecelia Dieterich each scored 12 points as undefeated Oxford Hills (5-0) dismissed Lewiston, 74-36, in a Class A basketball game on Saturday afternoon.

The Vikings went on 22-9 tear in the first quarter and  constructed a 46-17 halftime lead. Oxford Hills’ defense was certainly on, holding Lewiston (1-4) to single-digit scoring for the first three quarters.

Dumont was a nuisance as usual on defense. She was responsible for slowing down Lewiston’s transition game.

“It is the easiest way to get minutes if you play really hard and try your best,” Dumont said. “Yeah, my freshman year, that’s how I got minutes, on defense. I wasn’t the greatest scorer, so I always kept that with me.”

Dumont said she was prepared for the Blue Devils.

“We knew they had some really fast kids, and that no matter what the record is or what people say about them, they are always going to play super hard,” Dumont said. “We had to come out and play them like we play any other team. I thought we played really well.” 

Senior Julia Colby had the hot hand for the Vikings, turning in a 21-point performance, and freshman Sierra Carson added 11. Lewiston junior guard Emily Strachan deposited the team-high 18 points. For the afternoon, Oxford Hills made good on five 3-pointers. 

“For us, it’s we always just want to do what we do.” Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier said. “We don’t take any team lightly. This Lewiston team is much improved and (Lewiston coach) Lynn Girouard has done a great job with them.

“For us, it is just go through the same routine,” he added. “Then it comes to the point when the score got the way it did, it is getting kids quality minutes so that if we get in foul trouble, we do have kids that have that experience in the varsity game.”

Pelletier pointed out that Lewiston’s “energy was there.”

“Sometimes it is tough to come out with energy on a Saturday game, not the same routine you go through, and our rotations defensively were right there where they needed to be,” Pelletier added. 

After three quarters that disappeared like the afternoon sun, Oxford Hills was firmly in control, leading 59-24.

“We’ve just got to look forward,” Girouard said. “We can’t look back. There is a lot of season left. We just have to keep working and playing hard.

“We had a great start to the game,” she added. “We struggled with that a little bit — starting games the way we have. I was proud of them for coming right out and starting the game like that. Then Oxford Hills just kind of turns things on. If you are not back on D, they are going to burn you a little bit. They are state champions for a reason. They are tough.” 

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