MONMOUTH – Be careful what you wish for.

Monmouth Academy thought it had a pretty good defensive scheme prepared for Lisbon on Monday night.

That was until Amber Cloutier proved otherwise.

The Mustangs were hoping to defend the paint, neutralize the Greyhounds’ strength and force Lisbon to live from the outside. When Cloutier lit a spark for the Greyhounds from the perimeter, Lisbon roared to an early lead the Mustangs couldn’t overcome.

“We tried to take away their inside game,” Monmouth coach Rick Amero said. “Renee Moore is a very good player. We wanted to see what they could do from the outside. (Cloutier) forced us to come out of the zone with her good shooting.”

Lisbon raced out to a quick 13-0 lead and finished with a 35-15 win over the Mustangs.

The Greyhounds were ranked fourth in the most recent Western B standings and hope to finish strong to maintain their playoff positioning.

“We know every point counts for us,” Lisbon coach Jake Gentle said. “We have to play like it is the last game of the season for us and try to get as many points as we can.”

Moore finished with 13 points, while Cloutier had nine. Monmouth (2-12) got five from Bethany Neal and four from Alyssa Morin.

Cloutier scored six points during Lisbon’s 13-0 run to start the game. That enabled the Greyhounds to build a 15-2 lead after one quarter.

“That felt great,” the junior guard said. “It was awesome. We hadn’t won a Monday night away game this year. We knew we were up, and we knew we had to keep it up.”

The Mustangs tried to clog the paint and take away Lisbon’s inside game. Monmouth did a nice job of it, but it left perimeter players with ample opportunity.

“We came out and told the girls to come down and step into the gap against the zone,” Gentle said. “We said, ‘You’ve got to step in and take the shot. We’re there to shoot.'”

Sam Purcell hit a short jumper in the opening minute, and Cloutier drilled her first 3-pointer with 5:19 left for a 5-0 lead. About a minute later, she hit another. Moore followed with a three-point play, and Shelby Brannon hit from the outside.

“I felt really confident in my shooting,” Cloutier said. “I think my team pulled it together more and passed the ball around. They were the ones that made me open for the shot.”

Monmouth’s lone hoop in the first quarter came on a Neal leaner in the final minute. The Mustangs had 14 turnovers in the first half and shot just 2-for-13.

In the second quarter, Kelsey Linnell scored on a rebound and Cloutier hit another 3-pointer for a 20-2 advantage. Monmouth got free throws from Neal and a basket by Morin to close the gap at halftime.

In the third, the Mustangs closed to within 24-13 on baskets by Colby Wilson and Erika Ducharme and free throws from Morin. A Lisbon basket by Stephanie Smith ended the quarter and six straight by Moore to open the fourth put the game away.

“I thought we got better defensively as the game went on,” Amero said. “We showed moments of running our offense in the second half. We really struggled in the first half. We weren’t really getting into any kind of offense.”