NORTH ANSON — It might have been a crossover game, but class didn’t matter in the girls basketball showdown Wednesday night between Oak Hill and Carrabec.

It was a good, old fashioned slugfest.

Tied 22-22 at halftime, Oak Hill’s strong defensive effort in the second half — particularly in the third quarter — led the Raiders to a 47-38 victory.

“We don’t have a lot of kids,” Oak Hill coach Mike Labonte said. “But they’re pretty deep (talent-wise). It doesn’t matter who we have in there, they all do a great job and all have their strengths.”

Oak Hill — entering the game as the No. 3 seed in Class B South — improves to 7-2. Carrabec, No. 5 in C South, falls to 6-3.

The first half showed fight between both sides. Oak Hill jumped out to an 8-0 run to start the game, but Carrabec turned the tide late in the first quarter, stringing together an 8-0 run of its own to trail the Raiders 12-10 at the end of the quarter.

The Cobras outscored the Raiders 12-10 in the second quarter, thanks to seven points in the period from center Cheyenne Cahill. A layup by Olivia Fortier with mere seconds to play tied the game 22-22 at halftime.

Oak Hill took the game over in the third, forcing nine turnovers in the period alone, outscoring Carrabec by a 12-4 margin. Despite a strong effort from the Cobras in the fourth, the Raiders held on to the lead and the victory.

“The key is almost the same for any team, you’ve got to (get going) on that defensive end,” Labonte said. “We’re at our best when we’re causing really good ball pressure just defending the half-court. They did a better job of that (in the second half), did a better job of jumping passes, which is easier to do when you’re defending a quarter of the court.”

“I think (the players) played hard, I just think the third quarter is what killed us,” Carrabec coach Skip Rugh said. “We made some mental mistakes and mental turnovers. That’s what hurt us.”

Desirae Dumais led Oak Hill offensively with 12 points, followed by Anna Beach with 10 points. Cahill led Carrabec with 13 points, while Fortier had 11.

Oak Hill is well on pace to match last season’s regular-season record of 16-3, and is battling with Freeport and Yarmouth for the top spot in B South.

Despite the loss, Carrabec is already on pace to smash last season’s record of 7-12, which ended with a Class C South prelim loss to Monmouth.

“They play hard all the time,” Rugh said of his team. “The intensity level is there. Relentless is kind of a good term, and their defense has been good this season.”

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