DIXFIELD – Shannon Daley and Katie Hutchinson might have redefined the term “bench warmers” Monday night.

The two Dirigo freshmen came off the bench early in the opening quarter against Mt. Abram and tried to help warm up the Dirigo offense.

The two combined for seven points in a 12-0 run that opened up a Cougar lead as Dirigo stayed unbeaten with a 43-23 win over the Roadrunners.

“I think it means that the people coming in feel really good that they can help out and help get a lead,” said Daley. “Hopefully, the people coming off the bench again get right back into it and start scoring more and get the lead up there.”

Dirigo coach Gavin Kane was unavailable for comment following the game.

Though both teams had a sluggish opening quarter, points by Daley and Hutchinson helped Dirigo put some distance on Mt. Abram (6-2) as the Cougars (7-0) built a 13-3 lead. When Dirigo’s offense finally came to life in the second half, the Roadrunners couldn’t keep pace.

“If you keep the game close, they’re not going to relax,” said Mt. Abram coach Doug Lisherness of Dirigo. “They’re going to be a little tighter, but once they get up – see ya. Once they get a 16-point lead or so, now every possession is not crucial to them.”

Alexa Kaubris led the Cougars with 13 points while Holly Knight added nine points and 12 rebounds. Hutchinson finished with seven. Mt. Abram got six points from Jocelyn Plog and five each from Emily Stinchfield and Brittany York.

Both teams were plagued by foul trouble and some sloppy execution offensively. Mt. Abram shot just 1-of-10 from the floor and was hampered by its free-throw shooting, which hit just 5-of-20.

Despite its offensive woes, Dirigo managed to build a lead. A Kaubris drive sparked the 12-0 run. Daley scored on a pass from Michelle Holmquist. After a Brooke Weston free throw, Daley scored again off an inbounds pass. Knight hit a pair of free throws and Hutchinson finished off the run with a three-point play off a fast break.

“I wanted to be strong in the post,” said Daley. “We really needed that someone to get open and start making some shots and get some offensive rebounds.”

While Dirigo was getting some offense, the Roadrunners went 6:24 without a point.

“I’m very happy with our intensity,” said Lisherness. “I didn’t think we gave up. The girls really worked hard. The thing was, we did not execute in our offense. Credit Dirigo for causing some of that. They play very good defense, and they take you out of your offensive flow at times, but we have a lot of set plays which we didn’t even attempt to run.”

Dirigo established a 13-point lead in the second and opened the game up in the second half. Holmquist and Jennifer Harvey combined for eight points to start the half as Dirigo outscored Mt. Abram 17-3 in the third quarter.