After snapping a 115-game losing streak last week, Lisbon posted back-to-back victories.
By Kevin Mills
Staff Writer

LISBON FALLS – At some point Monday evening, it became obvious that this was a different Lisbon girls’ basketball team.

Wiscasset had soundly beaten the Greyhounds 79-33 early in the season. But this time the Redskins were in for a surprise. Lisbon not only kept it close, but ultimately handed the preseason MVC favorites a stunning 41-35 defeat.

“It’s one thing for people to tell you that you can do it,” said senior guard Dominique Mathieu. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe until you actually do it. I think getting past that and accepting that, it really led to us playing hard. We realized that we can win. We can do well. We can play as a team and things will work in our favor.”

After going 115 games without winning a game, dating back to 1998, the Greyhounds are talking about a different kind of streak this week. After defeating Monmouth last Friday, the Greyhounds made it two in a row against Wiscasset.

Lisbon hadn’t won two games in a season since 1994 and haven’t had a season with more than two wins since going 9-7 in 1993.

“It’s exciting,” said senior forward Krystal Doughty, who had 23 points in the win against the Mustangs. “Everyone is so proud. It’s nice to finally get redemption after working so hard and all the years of almost winning. It’s like a big weight off our shoulders.”

And, there’s more. With the two wins, the Greyhounds have vaulted up the Western C standings. Unofficially, they were ranked 13th and in the final playoff spot. Not counting the open tournament years, Lisbon hasn’t made the playoffs since 1989.

“It gets us up there,” said Doughty. “We went from just trying to get that first win and now we’re thinking there could be more.”

“Now we’re kind of rooting (Wiscasset) on because we want some (Heal) points,” said Mathieu, whose team hosted Boothbay Wednesday and finishes the regular season Monday at home against Carrabec. “If they beat Hall-Dale, we’re going to get a portion of that. So go Wiscasset!”

Four-year players like Mathieu and Doughty wondered if they would ever reach this point with the program. The team has slowly improved during their careers and gotten more competitive with some MVC clubs. Last year and this year, the Greyhounds had a number of near-misses but wins remained elusive.

“Some of the teams that were more our caliber, losing to them was kind of discouraging,” said Doughty. “We were thinking those were games we could have won and should have won. We were thinking maybe this year wouldn’t be the year.”

Lisbon came close in an early season match at Monmouth, but lost 34-30. In the rematch Friday, the Greyhounds trailed at the half, but rallied for a 36-29 victory.

“It’s been four years for me,” said Mathieu, who is joined by sisters Gabrielle and Soleil on the squad. “We’ve been working hard and have been pushing for it. It was almost like a relief. I finally can graduate without having this bugging me.”

With that one elusive hurdle cleared and a soaring spirit entering Monday’s game, the Redskins faced a Lisbon club with a whole new life.

“You could definitely tell that we were a little bit more confident having had that win,” said Doughty.

The response has been overwhelming. The team is the talk of the town and the girls are ecstatic about their achievement. The team has often received solid support from the school. The boys’ team regularly cheer on their counterparts and the school staff has been encouraging.

“Our team has just been glowing,” said Mathieu. “We’ve been happy and smiling. We finally got it. We know it’s possible. Early on this season, it seemed like one of those unattainable goals.”

For Doughty and Mathieu, the two who have persevered and endured the most, this streak has finally brought the reward they coveted.

“I’ve always been a part of basketball because I like it and because of the girls,” said Mathieu. “I really wanted to see some success in this program. It’s hard to be part of something and just leave it when it’s not successful. Now, finally, that we’ve had it, it makes it much better for the future teams. I really hope they can carry this on. There’s been improvement, and I hope next year, they can still improve.”