HINCKLEY — It was a battle between the last two undefeated teams in the Western Class D girls basketball standings, but when it was over, there was no doubt which is the team to beat in the region.

Rangeley routed previously undefeated Hyde, 64-31, at Kennebec Valley Community College’s Alfond Recreation Center. The Lakers are now 12-0, while Hyde is 9-1.

“Each night’s a new night, and if we see these guys in Augusta (in the tournament) we would be mentally prepared to go 32 minutes, right down to the wire, if that’s what it took,” Rangeley coach Heidi Deery said.

The Lakers never trailed, and took control of the game in the second quarter, when they used a 13-2 run to push their lead to 30-14. A key to Rangeley’s offensive night was patience, Deery said. Against Hyde’s zone defense, the Lakers made the extra pass to find an open shot, again and again.

“We’ve been working on being patient on offense, and I think tonight, it came together for us,” Deery said. “We’ve had a history of not being real patient on offense, and against a zone, if you don’t make the zone work, you’re really not doing what you need to do.”

Added senior Taylor Esty, who scored 36 points and grabbed 12 rebounds: “Yesterday in practice, we really worked on being patient with the ball, swinging it, and just taking our time. The last few games, we’ve been rushing it. We’ve been throwing it around. I felt like tonight, we all settled down.”

Rangeley took full advantage of its size, working the ball inside to the 6-foot-1 Esty and 6-2 Blayke Morin (11 points, seven boards). Rangeley outrebouned the Phoenix, 53-37.

“We feel like, with our height inside, and our experience, we should be able to do those kinds of things. But when we’re not patient and try to shoot off the first or second pass, we don’t get those looks,” Deery said.

Rangeley led 36-17 at the half and 49-26 after three quarters. Hyde committed 30 turnovers, 10 in the key second quarter.

“We were on our toes. We boxed out. We definitely had a hand in the face on shots,” Esty said.

Diamond Brown led the Phoenix with 15 points. Hyde played the second half without starting guard Lillian Allen, who injured her right ankle late in the second quarter and left the game with 10 points. The Phoenix also lost reserve forward Kristine Bailey, who fell and hit her head on the court while fighting for a rebound, also in the second quarter.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM

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