LEWISTON — The Lewiston-Auburn Maples bounced back after losing Saturday to the Mount Vernon Shamrocks, winning 74-71 thanks to key late shots by Jess Conant and Allexia Barron in a Women’s American Basketball Association game on Sunday at the Lewiston Armory.

Barros had 23 points to lead the Maples, and Conant, a former Dirigo High player, had 15, and Kaitlyn Mathieu, a former Thornton Academy player, added 14.

Imani Tate, who played at the University of Albany, had 34 points for Mount Vernon, and Jess Fairweather added 18.

Lewiston-Auburn jumped to a 21-7 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter, but Mount Vernon responded with a 24-point second quarter and led 34-30 at the half.

The Maples trailed 71-69 with 1:46 to play when Conant hit a 3-pointer to give them the lead.

“I’ve never really been the shooting guard. I made one 3 in my entire college career, so coming into the Maples I was determined to make some more 3s and change up my game a little bit,” said Conant, who also played at Plymouth State.

“Jess is kind of under-the-radar a little bit, but she’s a gamer. She’s undersized, she’s gritty and she doesn’t have a conscious. When she misses a shot, she’s still shooting the next open one. And that’s what I want her to do,” Maples Coach Jim Seavey said.

The lead remained at one until Barros hit a floater with 9 seconds left. LA made a stop on the final possession to secure the win.

“We had a couple of different options. And Lexi is aggressive and knows how to get to the paint,” Seavy said. “She has the green light. She’s a go-getter and she stepped up and hit a big shot.”

“We had a breakdown. We were supposed to have a guard follow her that whole possession, but she got screened. And Lex made a good shot,” Mount Vernon Coach Edwin Munch said.

Tempers flared with nine minutes left when LA’s Julia McCabe was pushed in the back by a Shamrocks player while going for an offensive rebound. A scuffle ensued, with McCabe jumping to her feet and getting the face of the player who pushed her.

“It was a different side of Julie, and it was fun to see,” Conant said. “It really got some fire under us and we were like ‘OK, we really need to beat this team’ and it definitely gave us the intensity to go hard and get the rebounds.”

LA was awarded a technical free throw, and a new sense of urgency.

“That was the spark. Julie, for the most part, kept her composure,” Seavey said. “Bottom line is they got the technical foul, and that was the turning point. That kind of got everyone a spark under their rear end and gave us some energy.”

The Maples began to play more physical on defense and rebounded the ball better after the scuffle, holding the Shamrocks scoreless over the final two minutes of the game.

Lewiston-Auburn (2-1) returns to action against NYC Ocean at 2 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Armory.