PORTLAND – Marissa MacMillan admits she possesses distinct advantages over most opponents.

But that doesn’t change the effort she needs to enjoy the spoils of standing 6-foot-3 on the basketball court.

“It does have some advantages,” MacMillan said Wednesday night after scoring a game-high 12 points to help Deering to a 46-32 victory against South Portland in a Southern Maine Activities Association girls’ basketball game.

“Obviously I can get the ball easier because my arms are longer and I can just block shots easier. But I still have to work as hard as all the other players. I have to run the floor and I have to do everything the same. It’s just that I have a little bit of an advantage around the basket.”

Deering, which opened the season with back-to-back losses, posted its fourth consecutive victory to move to 4-2.

The loss left South Portland at 3-3.

The Rams built a 9-0 lead by the halfway point of the first quarter.

Ella Ramonas started Deering’s outburst with six straight points in the opening three minutes.

MacMillan, a junior forward who owned at least a 5-inch height advantage over her opponents, followed with four of the next seven points as Deering bolted to a 13-4 lead by the end of the period.

“Well, she’s tall and she has a lot of moves so it’s hard to defend against her,” said 5-foot-10 South Portland freshman Holly Black.

“It’s hard to stop her because she’s so big and she’s good at boxing out.”

The lopsided trend continued in the second quarter.

The Rams outscored the Red Riots 12-4 in the opening six minutes to move ahead 25-8.

Chelsea Saucier started and ended Deering’s second extended run of the opening half with a pair of buckets, accounting for four of her eight points in the game.

Deering carried a 30-11 lead into halftime.

“We’re been struggling playing 32 minutes and we finally looked like the team that I think we can be,” said Deering Coach Mike Murphy. “We came out aggressive and made it tough for the opponent.

“It’s just been inconsistent but tonight, really for the first three quarters, I was very pleased with their effort, anticipating and reading what’s out in front of them.”

The Rams put together a third straight dominant quarter and outscored the Red Riots 14-2 to push the game totally out of reach.

MacMillan scored her final six points of the game and Emily Cole drained two 3-pointers in the period that ended with Deering enjoying a 44-13 advantage.

South Portland’s reserves came to life in the final period to make the final score respectable.

The Red Riots opened the quarter on a 17-0 run to close within the eventual losing margin of 14 points.

“They were far more intense to start the game than we were,” said South Portland Coach Mike Giordano.

“We talked about that in the locker room before the game. We had to match their intensity because they are a very physical and aggressive team. We didn’t do that and down 9-0 proved it.”

Black and Emily Gray paced the Red Riots with eight points each.