The Lisbon High School girls basketball team battled back against another talented team, cutting a 14-point halftime deficit down to just seven points versus Mountain Valley on Thursday in a Mountain Valley Conference contest.

Unfortunately for the Greyhounds, the hard work that produced the comeback also tired the team out, and the Falcons showed another gear en route to a 46-22 win.

Mountain Valley improved to 9-1 and hosts Monmouth Academy on Saturday. The win propelled the Falcons into the top spot in the Class B South Heal Point standings.

On the other side, Lisbon fell to 5-6 and visits Wiscasset on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

For the third time in four games, the Greyhounds showed, at times, that they can play with the big teams of the MVC. But, the story remained the same, as early deficits and long scoreless stretches have been costly through 11 games.

“We just run out of gas, just exhausted ourselves,” Petrie said. “We did exactly what we wanted to do in the third quarter. Then we had some fundamental breakdowns. At the end, it was bodies flying all over the place.”

“They were very physical in the passing lanes and bumped us off the ball in spots,” Mountain Valley coach Ryan Casey said. “When you have a team that scraps that has nothing to lose, we have to respond. It was a challenge in that third quarter to match their intensity.”

Leading 25-18 after three quarters, the Falcons rode the hot hand of Ashley Russell, who scored six of her game-high 14 points during a 15-1 run that closed out the Greyhounds.

Emily Laubauskas also played a big role for the Falcons, as her nine points as the first player off the Mountain Valley bench helped spark her team.

“My role is to come off the bench, fire my team up, get the defense going, being the spark plug of the team” Laubauskas said. “I take that role seriously and something I want to keep during the season.”

“She is a starter who doesn’t start, an ‘X’ factor for us, and when the team is not playing right her contributions are often the difference,” Casey said.

Even first quarter

Lisbon forced four early Mountain Valley turnovers and led 6-4 after a steal and bucket by Mallory Fairbanks.

But the Falcons found their legs, closing the opening quarter with six straight points for a 10-6 lead. Karen Flaherty hit a 3-pointer to give the Falcons the lead for good, and Laubauskas’ hoop and harm closed the frame.

The run continued into the second quarter. Mountain Valley owned the boards, out-rebounding the Greyhounds 17-6, including 11-1 on the offensive glass. Russell matched her first-quarter total with four more points for eight at the half, with Laubauskas nailing a trey for a 23-9 lead at the intermission.

Lisbon showed its heart in the third quarter, led by Kipri Steele’s five points. The Falcons went cold, hitting just 1-of-10 shots and committing 10 turnovers as the Greyhounds closed to the gap through 24 minutes.

“They came out at halftime wanting it more than we did, but once we settled down and ran our offense, we were fine,” Laubauskas said.

“Every game, we have played everybody hard,” Petrie said. “It is frustrating to get close then kick ourselves before letting it slip away. Defensively, we are strong, but we can’t play defense the entire game.”

Mountain Valley owned the fourth quarter. Liza White hit 2-of-4 at the free-throw line to open the frame, and Russell twice grabbed offensive boards and scored for a 32-18 lead. Moments later, Russell skied over a pair of Greyhounds off a missed free throw and scored again, and Laubauskas drove to the basket after a steal to keep the Falcons’ late-game run going.

“We challenged them in the fourth, knowing they had worked hard to get here. They turned it up and matched that intensity,” said Casey.

“They are good, experienced, good shooters, and a good outside-inside team,” said Petrie.

Mountain Valley finished with a big 33-17 edge on the glass, including 20 offensive rebounds, leading to several second- and third-chance points.

White chipped in six points and six rebounds, while Sydney Petrie pulled down seven boards, dished out five assists and had four steals. Emily Billings had three assists.

Fairbanks led Lisbon with six points, with five each coming from Kipri Steele and Jasmin Le. Fairbanks also contributed five rebounds and five steals.