After eight losses to open the Mountain Valley Conference season, Patrick Quinn and his Wiscasset High School girls squad came into Wednesday’s encounter with winless Winthrop starving for a victory.

Well, the Wolverines certainly got their fill of the Ramblers … in a good way.

Wiscasset held the 0-9 Ramblers to just six field goals in pulling away for a 36-21 victory, improving to 1- 8 with Carrabec slated to come to town on Friday at 7 p.m.

“ We had such a tough schedule to begin the season, but I always know the girls are going to play hard every time they take the floor,” said Quinn, whose team held a big 36-23 rebounding advantage led by Kayla Connors (nine rebounds) and Kasey Cromwell (seven). “We had a pretty big size advantage in the inside, and we were able to take advantage of some extra shots.

“ We had some freshmen step up ( Aleisha Faulkingham, six rebounds; Kayla Gordon, four points, three steals and five caroms) and tried a new zone press. They are all soccer players and played the angles really well.”

Despite foul trouble, Connors led the Wolverines with 12 points, with Heidi Pinkham adding nine points, three steals and two assists. Pinkham hit a big 3-pointer early in the second half as Wiscasset began to pull away.

“It was huge,” said Quinn of Pinkham’s shot. “ When Heidi is feeling confident, she has a great shot and can be impressive.

“It was great to come out here and get a win,” said Pinkham. “We have worked hard in practice and we try hard every game. This is a good feeling.”

Slow going

Both teams struggled with turnovers in the first half, combining on 26 while putting up just 21 points. Connors scored all six of the Wolverines’ points in the opening quarter as Wiscasset led 6-4.

Winthrop tied the game for a moment (6-6) on a Jess Scott jumper, and Connors picked up her second foul with 6:23 remaining until halftime.

But, Cromwell answered on the other end to put Wiscasset up for good. Leading 9- 8, Pinkham’s short jumper and a layup by Cromwell sent the hosts to the locker room with a 13-8 lead.

Pinkham’s trey on the opening second-half possession made it an eight-point game, and a 6-0 run with four points from Gordon staked Wiscasset to a 24-12 advantage. Connors pulled down a rebound and laid the ball into the cylinder at the buzzer, giving the Wolverines a 26- 14 lead through three quarters.

“We felt pretty good in the second half and felt like we were going to get our first win,” said Cromwell.

An 8- 0 run over a threeminute stretch of the fourth quarter gave Wiscasset its biggest lead (36-17) as the celebration began.

Cromwell finished with six points. The Wolverines shot 28 percent (17 of 59) from the field and finished one of five from the free-throw line.

Scott paced Winthrop with seven points and five steals, while Shauna Carlson added five points, and Liz Glover four and a like number of steals. The Ramblers forced 25 Wiscasset turnovers while committing 28. Lilly Beauregard had a team- high six rebounds, with teammate Alyssa Arsenault pulling down five caroms.

Winthrop was nine of 19 from the line.

Wiscasset 36,
Winthrop 21

At Wiscasset High School
Winthrop— 4467—21
Wiscasset — 6 7 13 10 — 36
Winthrop — Randi Dennett 0-1-1, Cat Ouellette 0-2-2, Jess Scott 3-1-7, Shauna Carlson
1-3-5, Amy Belanger 0-0-0, Liz Glover 2-0-4,
Alyssa Arsenault 0-2-2, Lilly Beauregard 0-0-
0, Gabby Stewart 0-0-0, Ashleigh Dunham 0-
0-0. Totals — 6-9-21.
Wiscasset — Kasey Cromwell 3-0-6, Briana
Goud 0-1-1, Heidi Pinkham 4-0-9, Kayla
Connors 6-0-12, Carolyn Footer 1-0-2,
Miranda McIntire 1-0-2, Aleisha Faulkingham
0-0-0, Kayla Gordon 2-0-4, Maddy Wehrle 0-
0-0, Hannah Foye 0-0-0. Totals — 17-1-36.
3-pointer field goal — (Wis) Pinkham.
Records — Wiscasset 1-8, Winthrop 0-9.
Next for the Wolverines — Friday at
home against Carrabec, 7 p.m.