Erskine Academy’s Lauryn Northrup dribbles the ball while communicating with her teammates during a game against Mount View on Tuesday in South China. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

SOUTH CHINA — Both teams entered this season believing they can go places. On Tuesday night, the Mount View and Erskine Academy girls basketball teams showed why.

For Mount View, a senior duo made things happen in the paint while the team made key 3-pointers and got to the free-throw line. Erskine received a big game from a sophomore star and made a roaring comeback to turn an 18-point deficit in a tight game.

This time, Mount View came away with a 63-55 win. The Mustangs got 18 points from Madison Bennett, 16 points and 11 rebounds from Arianna Bradeen, 13 points from Emma Hurd and 12 points and eight boards from Savannah Lorenz.

“We just stayed to our craft: just pushing the defense and trying to get stops when we can,” said Mount View Coach Tyler Wilcox. “We know we’re a very talented offensive team, and we just need to work on defense and really put our foot to the metal to stop people.”

It should shock no one that Mount View (3-0) has big goals this season. The Mustangs went 14-6 last year, producing their best mark since 2008-09 and reaching the Class C North quarterfinals. Essentially every major contributor has returned.

That starts with Bradeen, an All-KVAC Class B first-teamer a year ago, and Lorenz. The duo is used to dominating the paint, something they did Tuesday in helping Mount View beat Erskine 35-25 on the boards. Both players are committed to the University of Maine at Augusta.

“We both have strong post games, and we both like to work the high-low,” Bradeen said. “I think we have a lot of similarities together on the court, so we like to split the differences and work together to try and help our team.”

Erskine Academy’s Oryanna Winchenbach dribbles the ball in an attempt to get past Mount View’s Emma Hurd during their game Tuesday in South China. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

The Eagles (1-1), meanwhile, never feel like they’re out of the game thanks to Kelsie Dunn. The sophomore led all scorers with 22 points Tuesday, scoring 12 of those points in the third quarter. That kept the game from turning into a blowout as Erskine entered the fourth trailing 51-38.

“She works hard; I think she played every single minute,” said Erskine Coach Danielle Lefferts. “I’d like to be able to take the pressure off of her some nights and look for other people, but, unfortunately, tonight was one of those nights where it just wasn’t clicking for us.”

Erskine cut the deficit to 51-46 with 5:20 remaining, one of three times in the fourth that the Eagles trailed by only five points. They ultimately couldn’t pull it out, but it was still the kind of effort that has Lefferts excited about what her team can do this year.

“Erskine is never going down without a fight, and that’s what keeps us in a lot of games,” Lefferts. “That’s why I always have confidence, even when we do get down by 20, because we just have that mindset of picking away one (possession) at a time and trying not to panic.”

Like Mount View, Erskine has hopes of success in February with much of last year’s roster returning. With players such as Dunn, Kienna Morse (nine points) and Olivia Childs (eight points) all sophomores, the Eagles’ core is one that will remain together for a while.

Games like Tuesday’s, then, could be a stepping stone toward central Maine success at the Cross Insurance Center. It’s been a few years since area teams have had success there, but after Erskine fell just short of Bangor last year and Mount View got a mere taste, there’s plenty of motivation.

“We got there last year, but we didn’t get past the (quarterfinals),” said Bradeen, whose Mustangs lost 43-20 to eventual state champ Dexter. “We’ve been thinking about that since Day 1, getting to Bangor together. We know the vibe, and we want to get back.”