WISCASSET — Lisbon doubled its seven-point halftime lead with an 18-point third quarter and the Greyhounds pulled away for a 46-26 victory over Wiscasset in girls’ Mountain Valley Conference basketball action Friday night.

Sophomore Giana Russo scored 12 of her game-high 20 points in the decisive third.

“She’s a fantastic player. She’s grown so much from her freshman year to now,” Lisbon coach Julie Petrie said. “She’s not only a good player, but she makes everyone around her better.”

Both teams came out cold in the first quarter, totaling only six points while shooting a combined 2-for-19 from the field. The Greyhounds held a 5-1 advantage.

“We don’t score a lot of points, so it’s crucial we play good defense to keep games close,” Wiscasset coach Ben Clark said. “We look to play hard every game and tonight was no exception.”

As both teams completed scoring opportunities in the second quarter, it was Lisbon’s tight defense that began to separate the two teams.

A relentless press by the Greyhounds forced five second-quarter turnovers and the visiting team capitalized on the offensive end of the court.

Following a Charlie Cox basket underneath off a bounce pass in the middle from Russo, Carly Drischler stole a Wolverine pass and passed ahead to Russo where the guard was fouled while shooting. Russo hit both free throws for an 11-6 Lisbon lead with 3:50 remaining in the half.

After another Wiscasset turnover on the next possession, Drishcler sank a trey to give Lisbon its biggest lead of the half, 14-6.

Solid shooting from the free-throw line kept the Wolverines within striking distance heading into the half. The home team shot 6-9 from the charity stripe, trailing Lisbon, 18-11 at the break.

Russo opened the second half with a 3-point basket and followed it up the next time down the court with another shot from behind the arc.

“Some nights I have it, sometimes I don’t,” Russo said. “It definitely wasn’t planned that way, but I had the shots so I took them.”

“We switched to a zone and she found the open spot,” Clark said.

Russo continued her third quarter assault when she grabbed an offensive rebound in the midst of much taller players underneath, and put it back for a two point score. Minutes later, she stole the ball at midcourt and took it home for the layup and a commanding 36-22 Lisbon lead after three quarters.

Meanwhile, a rebounding battle was occurring on both ends of the court. On the Wiscasset side, Jade Rego hauled in three offensive rebounds and Sydnie Thayer grabbed two, fighting off Cox and Anna Willey underneath for the ball.

Thayer finished with 10 rebounds, while Rego had seven (five offensive) and 10 points. The Wolverines finished with 28 boards for the game.

“Before the game, coach told me now was my time to shine,” Rego said. “I felt good tonight so I was like, ‘Why not?’”

On the Lisbon side, the “undersized” post players held their own, hauling in 30 rebounds as a team.

“We’re not big underneath so we have to be physical and aggressive to get those rebounds,” Petrie said.

Russo grabbed four fourth-quarter boards to finish with eight to go along with her four steals.

Cox hauled in nine boards, but also contributed with 10 points, including a pair of baskets off Russo passes.

“We’ve played together for quite a while now,” Cox said. “I typically know where she’s going and can anticipate the pass.”

As for her rebounding and boxing out, Cox likes the physical play.

“We’re not the biggest team, but we like to play tough underneath and grab that ball,” Cox said.

The Greyhounds pulled away in the final quarter behind 7-for-9 shooting from the foul line by Drischler, who ended with 12 points.

Wiscasset only managed four points in the final quarter but played right down to the final buzzer.

“Coach always tells us be the ‘hardest working team out there,’ and that’s what we try to do,” Rego said.

“We’re getting there,” said Petrie. “We’re coming together and have some winnable games coming up, so hopefully we get into a rhythm.”

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