AUGUSTA — There’s quite the dichotomy at play with this year’s Cony girls basketball team — not that you would have known it Friday night.

It’s hard to find players with more skill and varsity experience than the Rams’ two seniors, Morgan Fichthorn and Abby Morrill. The rest of the team, though? Next to no experience with four freshmen and a senior who hasn’t played in three years rounding out the rotation.

Yet with half of the regular season now in the books, Cony looks like a well-oiled machine. The Rams continued a strong season with a 57-53 victory over Mt. Ararat in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference showdown.

“I wouldn’t have guessed that we’d be where we are right now,” said Cony coach John Dennett, whose team improved to 8-1. “We have a lot of work to do, and we need to get better, but the girls are flying around, they’re communicating, and they’re playing their hearts out.”

Morrill scored a game-high 22 points for Cony, Fichthorn recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds, and freshmen Gabby Vachon (nine points) and Kya Douin (eight points) made two 3-pointers each. Kayleigh Wagg had 16 points and six rebounds for Mt. Ararat.

“We just had to keep the intensity up the whole game,” Fichthorn said. “We knew it was going to be a really tough and competitive game; they’re one of the top teams in Class A South. We just knew we had to keep our heads in the game the whole time, and eventually, we pulled out the victory.”

Cony knew what it had entering the season with Morrill (13.9 points, 9.1 rebounds per game), an all-KVAC first-teamer last year, and Fichthorn (11.8 points, 8.8 rebounds per game). Yet that was it in terms of returning production for the Rams, who graduated starters Cale Barajas, Morgan Cunningham and Maci Freeman.

Enter freshmen Douin and Vachon, who stepped right into the starting lineup, as well as Rylin Miller and Khloe Price. Senior Abby Clark, who hadn’t played since her freshman year, returned to round out the starting lineup — and the Rams have enjoyed success as they try to defend their Class A North title.

“I think (our success has been a product of) coming in at younger ages, playing all the time and working so hard, and definitely our seniors,” Douin said. “They’re a big part of it. If we’re getting down, they’re going to pick us up, and even if we’re playing bad, we’re going to be there.”

Cony’s only loss thus far was a 57-50 defeat to Oxford Hills on Dec. 13. Since then, the Rams have won seven straight games, a stretch that’s included impressive wins over strong Hampden Academy and Camden Hills teams and, now, a Mt. Ararat (5-2) squad that should contend in Class A South.

The key to it all, Dennett said, has been Cony’s improvements on defense. Although the Rams were no slouches on the defensive end en route to a regional championship last year, they’ve improved from 51.2 points per game allowed in 2023-24 to 45.1 allowed this season.

“I feel like we always seem to have slow starts (defensively), but then we settle in,” Dennett said. “I’ve been saying all year that we’re a better defensive team than we were last year; we’re much better in the halfcourt. The girls are switching well, and tonight, they brought the intensity.”

That was particularly evident early in the second half Friday. Buoyed by 3-pointers from Douin and Miller, Cony went on a 10-0 run in just two minutes to turn a 28-25 deficit into a 35-28 lead. 

It’s a win that’s only going to boost the confidence of what’s largely a young team. Cony’s schedule will ease up somewhat over the next two weeks, but the Rams still have two games each against a strong Lawrence team and rival Gardiner coming later in the season.

“(Abby Morrill and I) are leading the team, and with our freshmen, we have a really good, talented freshmen (group) coming up; they’re working really hard every practice,” Fichthorn said. “I feel like we’re going to be really good this season.”