Oxford Hills’ Julia Colby drives the lane two points during Tuesday’s AA North quarterfinal game against Lewiston. (Brewster Burns photo)

PARIS — Veterans of the high school basketball tournament know they have to ratchet up their intensity and overall level of play for the postseason, and that it’s not as simple as just flipping a switch when needed.

Top-seeded Oxford Hills’ junior-laden roster has compiled sufficient tournament experience to not only understand what tournament time means, but, as Tuesday’s demonstration against No. 8 Lewiston in the Class AA North girls’ basketball quarterfinals showed, put that understanding into practice.

The Vikings dominated the first half, launching more than three times as many shots as the Blue Devils in the first quarter and then shutting them out on the scoreboard in the second quarter, in an overwhelming 77-26 victory.

Junior Julia Colby scored 11 of her game-high 16 points in the first quarter, adding seven rebounds, four assists and five steals to an outstanding all-around performance for Oxford Hills (17-2). Sophomore Cassidy Dumont also had 16 points, all in the first half, while junior Cecelia Dieterich added 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Maddy Foster led Lewiston (4-15) with 12 points and four rebounds.

The Blue Devils took a 3-0 lead on Emily Strachan’s 3-pointer from the top of the key on the game’s opening possession. That would be their only lead as the Vikings’ swarming full-court pressure kicked in, forcing four turnovers in the enusing 90 seconds to score the next eight points, a run highlighted by Dieterich’s steal and fastball pass leading Dumont to a transition layup.

“That’s one of the things that we stressed in the locker room; we wanted to come out strong just because when you get in one of these games, you don’t want it to go down to the wire,” Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier said. “Lewiston has played a lot of close games this year. It doesn’t matter what their competition is, and we didn’t want it to come down to that. We’ve got some kids that really can ramp up the intensity.”

Colby, who was named AA North Player of the Year earlier this week, said the Vikings weren’t going to take anything for granted even though they had beaten Lewiston twice during the regular season.

“I think we had to come into the game not too confident and had to play it like we’re playing any other team, and get ourselves ready for the next game,” she said. “We practice pressing and playing fast-paced a lot, so I think that helps us a lot and gives us energy.”

Colby scored from inside and outside while pouring in nine consecutive points as the Vikings opened up a 15-6 lead. Dieterich’s 3-pointer capped off a first quarter that saw the Vikings force 11 turnovers and put up 25 shots to the Blue Devils’ seven while building an insurmountable 30-10 lead.

“We wanted to see if I could really just set them free and say, ‘Hey, let’s go as hard as we can,'” said Pelletier, who was named the AA North Coach of the Year. “One of our strengths this year has been playing at a high intensity. It’s taken a toll on some teams, us being able to play with that high intensity the whole game. It obviously affected (Lewiston) early.”

Lewiston took better care of the basketball in the second period, and put up twice as many shots as it did in the first but couldn’t get any to fall. The Vikings’ second unit, led by senior Jadah Adams and juniors Brooke Carson and Jade Smedberg, maintained the starters’ defensive intensity.

Dumont followed up her eight-point first quarter with eight more points in the second to help the Vikings take a 46-10 lead into halftime.

Oxford Hills pulled back into half-court man-to-man defense for most of the second half and Foster took advantage for seven of Lewiston’s nine points in the quarter. That gave Pelletier something to point to after a nearly flawless first half.

“The intensity level came down, and we’ve got to really work on that,” Pelletier said. “We can be just as intense in the half-court. It just didn’t happen in the second half.”

The Vikings will have plenty of time to work on that and virtually anything else with a week of practice before their next game. They will face the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between No. 4 Portland and No. 5 Edward Little in the regional semifinals, which are scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff on Feb. 20 at Cross Insurance Arena.

Pelletier said his team has a better idea of how to ramp up the tournament focus and intensity during the long layoff.

“Luckily, we’ve done it the last couple of years, so the girls are kind of used to that,” Pelletier said.

“Just play hard in practice,” Colby said, “and then once it gets closer (to the semifinals), just get more excited.”

Lewiston’s Jordan Rubin passes to teammate Emily Strachan during Tuesday’s AA North quarterfinal game against Oxford Hills in Paris. (Brewster Burns photo)

Lewiston guard Emily Strachan attempts to score against Oxford Hills’ Jade Smedburg during Tuesday’s AA North quarterfinal game in Paris. (Brewster Burns photo)

Lewiston’s Cecelia Racine tries to get by Oxford Hills’ Julia Colby, hidden, as fellow Vikings Cecelia Dieterich and Maggie Hartnett providing support during Tuesday’s AA North quarterfinal game in Paris. (Brewster Burns photo)

With Oxford Hills’ Maggie Hartnett putting on the pressure, Lewiston’s Lauren Foster looks for an outlet pass after coming down with a rebound during Tuesday’s AA North quarterfinal game in Paris. (Brewster Burns photo)

After an errant pass, Lewiston’s Ceceilia Racine reaches for the ball as Oxford Hills guard Julia Colby comes away with it during Tuesday’s AA North quarterfinal game in Paris. (Brewster Burns photo)

Oxford Hills’ Cecelia Dieterich attacks the hoop against the defense of Lewiston’s Madeline Foster during Tuesday’s AA North quarterfinal game in Paris. (Brewster Burns photo)

Oxford Hills’ Cassidy Dumont goes up for two early in Tuesday’s AA North quarterfinal game against Lewiston. (Brewster Burns photo)