DIXFIELD — The Dirigo girls’ basketball was struggling to find its comfort zone early on this season, but when the Cougars were in the “zone,” they held the upper hand in a Mountain Valley Conference game Thursday afternoon.

Dirigo heated up offensively, with seniors Alyssa Wade and Miranda Shurtleff combining to score 28 points. A pressure defense allowed the Cougars to pull away in the third quarter en route to a convincing 52-23 triumph over Lisbon.

”I actually needed to light a fire under them during halftime,” said Dirigo coach Reggie Weston, regarding a 25-14 lead at halftime. “The score was still close, and I told the girls that we need these games because we play at Mountain Valley (tonight) and then Spruce Mountain on Monday and again next Saturday. You can be sure that they will pressure us.”

Dirigo (3-2) responded by reeling off three fast baskets to begin the second half. Shurtleff (13 points) started the procession by hitting a short jump shot. Following a Lisbon turnover, Angela Ronan (four steals) scored from inside on a Paige Murphy assist. On the ensuing possession, Wade (15 points, seven assists, six steals) stole the ball near mid court and drove in for a layup.

“Lisbon was playing a zone against us,” Shurtleff said. “The one guard that was out front created a lot of open spaces. We were able to get open for a lot of jump shots.”

Lisbon (3-3) was held scoreless until Jessica Campbell (eight rebounds) made one of two free throws, with 4:11 left in the third quarter. The Greyhounds didn’t make a field goal (missed nine shots) and turned the ball over five times. Shurtleff hit and Wade added a basket as the Cougars led 37-15 after three quarters.

“Our defense has been much better,” Shurtleff said. “We’ve worked hard on it in practice. We need to get up on people and every one seems to be on the same page.”

Dirigo made 10 of 18 shots in the middle quarters and built a double-digit lead following a 10-2 run to begin the second quarter. Shurtleff buried a jumper, Kayla Gaudin was fouled and made a free throw, and Ambyr Wilson slid in and put in a rebound. Lisbon’s Elyssa Hubert made a basket, but Murphy (seven points), who returned to action after suffering a knee injury during preseason, drained a 3-pointer and a basket.

“Our transition game was better than previous games,” said Wade, who was six of six on two-point shots. “It has helped with Paige (Murphy) running the offense. We’ve won three in a row and knew we needed to step it up after losing our first two games.”

The Greyhounds Brianna Moore (five rebounds) and Alexa Harmon each scored seven points.