POLAND — Maria Valente set the tone Monday on the first three possessions of the game.

The Gray-New Gloucester senior aggressively took the ball toward the basket and drew three consecutive fouls. She hit free throws to stake the Patriots to the early lead, but it was her tenacious approach that had her team playing hard from the start.

“Poland is always a rival and no matter what the score is, it always feels like a one-point lead or that you’re one point down,” Valente said. “It’s always a tough game for us and very aggressive. We wanted to come out really strong.”

That start included a quick 10-0 lead and had Poland unable to keep pace. The Patriots nearly doubled the lead by halftime as Gray-NG cruised to a 47-23 win over the Knights.

“We won the game with our defense,” Gray-NG coach Mike Andreasen said. “Our offense wasn’t great. If we keep people in those numbers, we’re going to be in good shape.”

While the Patriots (12-1) were building the early lead, the Knights (8-5) were struggling from the start. Having to battle early foul trouble didn’t help. Poland was tentative offensively and never got untracked.  The Knights missed their first six shots of the game and finished 1-for-9 in the opening quarter. Poland finished 7-for-40 from the floor ovarall and had over a dozen turnovers.

“Our defense was good,” Andreasen said. “Our half court defense was very good. Our rotation was good. Our press wasn’t particularly effective, but I think in the halfcourt set, where they’re really lacking a low post presence, it’s easier to rotate on the high post.”

The Knights, currently seeded eighth in Western B and trying to secure one of the one playoff spots, was limited to mostly outside shots. Those weren’t falling and that allowed the Patriots to build upon the early lead with little to no answer from the Knights.

“The past few games against Lake Region and Old Orchard, we had to get out on the shooters,” Valente said. “They had a lot of 3-point shooters. So the last couple of games, we’ve been doing a good job of getting on the shooters.”

Valente finished with a game-high 18 for the second-ranked Patriots. Zoe Adams added 11 points and seven rebounds. Alicia Dumont and Grace Kariotis each had six while Skye Conley chipped in two points and seven boards.

Poland got nine from Hope Kohtala, all on 3’s. Michaella Arsenault and Morgan Brousseau each had five.

Valente sank five of her first six free throws for the quick 5-0 lead. Then Kariotis scored in the post. After an Adams free throw, Isabelle Detroy hit a jumper for the 10-0 lead. Poland didn’t get its first basket until a Kohtala 3 with 1:50 left, but the Patriots added a pair of baskets by Adams in the final minute for a 14-5 lead.

In the second quarter, Poland shot 2-for-9 overall and hit just one of its first eight shots. Valente had 10 points in the quarter, including back-to-back 3’s to open a 30-20 lead. Conley, Dumont and Kariotis also scored as the Patriots shot 6-for-12 in the quarter and used a 10-1 run to break the lead open.

“We were being patient,” Valente said. “At times, we were a little frantic and we know that. That’s stuff we’re working on, but most of the time, we were patient and looked for open people.”

The lead was up to 30-12 at the half. Kohtala had a pair of 3’s in the third for Poland but it was the only offense the Knights could muster, shooting 2-for-10. Dumont and Valente each hit 3’s and  Gray-NG had the lead to 39-18 after three.

Poland made a bit of a surge with back-to-back steals by Nathalie Theriault that cut the deficit to 41-22. The Patriots had eight turnovers in the fourth, but Gray-NG settled down and took better care of the ball down the stretch.

“What you worry about is the way those kids can shoot 3’s,” Andreasen said. “If they steal the ball in transition and they light up a 3 now and then, that could be some real trouble for us.”

Poland shot 2-for-12 in the fourth and the Patriots finished with free throws from Adams, Alanna Camerl and Kariotis.

kmills@sunjournal.com