BELFAST – Twice in the second half Thursday night the Mount View girls basketball team mounted a rally against Belfast.

By the third time, however, Claire Hogan and the Lions were too much for the rival Mustangs of Thorndike.

Hogan scored 13 points, including the eventual winning basket with 1 minute, 4 seconds left in the game, as Belfast held off nearby Mount View 41-40 at the high school gymnasium.

“I thought it was going to be a good game coming into it,” said Belfast senior captain Jillian Ross. “It’s always tough with a rivalry.”

Belfast (4-1) didn’t look sharp at times – the Lions conceded a wide-open Mount View layup in the third quarter because they set up on defense at the wrong end – but Hogan’s 12-footer with 1:04 left, strong defense in the final minute, and a poised move by Ross helped seal the win.

“There were spurts of really great-looking basketball and then there were times it was at a different level,” Belfast coach Meg Cressler said. “We just needed to tighten it up, especially in the fourth quarter.”

Cressler had called a timeout with 1:14 remaining. Coming out of the 60-second break, Ross inbounded the ball to Stephanie Whittier, who passed it to Ade Hills in the lane. Hills pushed the ball out to Hogan on the left baseline for the jumper.

“[Mount View was] in a zone and I think they didn’t know who to pick up,” Hogan said.

Mount View (1-3) turned the ball over with 28 seconds remaining and coach John Donato called a timeout during which he asked the Mustangs to foul quickly. Although the Lions were in the bonus, they weren’t shooting well from the free-throw line (5-for-14 overall).

Things didn’t go as planned for Mount View, however.

Mount View’s Tonya Jones (10 points, nine rebounds) deflected a Belfast pass into the backcourt, but Ross hustled back and gathered in the ball before it could go out of bounds.

Ross was eventually fouled, but with less than two seconds left. Although she missed the first shot of what would have been a 1-and-1, Mount View didn’t have enough time left to do anything with the rebound.

“I called the timeout and said, OK, we’re gonna pressure them in the backcourt and as soon as they get past half-court, foul,” Donato said. “Twenty-two seconds left and we’re still running around playing defense and not trying to foul.”

Hogan’s basket came 51 seconds after Jones hit an offensive-rebound jumper to put the Mustangs up 40-39. It was their first lead since a 27-26 edge in the third when Jennifer Masessa converted the unguarded layup. Mount View was up by as many as five points later in the quarter and took a 31-29 lead into the fourth.

Masessa (11 points) hit a 3-pointer in the second quarter that tied the game at 17-17 to cap a 10-0 run.

Whittier chipped in with 11 points, including two 3-pointers against Mount View’s zone defense in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t think they expected me to be shooting,” said point guard Whittier. “Typically I’m the one who dishes it out.”

LIONS 41, MUSTANGS 40

Mount View (1-3) Belfast (4-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Montminy 2 2 2 2 6 Webster 0 0 0

Bennett 0 1 0 0 0 Littlefield 1 2

Grotton 3 7 0 0 6 Ross 2 12 6

Ravin 0 3 0 0 0 Reed 1 7 5

J.Masessa 4 8 1 2 11 Whittier 4 11

T. Jones 5 8 0 0 10 Hills 1 4 4

K.Masessa 1 8 0 2 2 Anderson 0 0

McAdam 2 7 1 3 5 Blair 0 1 0

Hogan 6 9 1 13

Curry 0 1 0 0

Totals 17 44 4 9 40 Totals 15 49 14 41

Mount View 5 17 31 40

Belfast 8 21 29 41

3-pt. goals – Mount View (2-7): J. Masessa 2-4, Grotton 0-1, Ravin 0-1, K. Masessa 0-1; Belfast (6-16): Whittier 3-5, Ross 2-7, Reed 1-4

JV: Mount View 24-15

Attendance: 300 (est.)