It didn't take long for the St. Dom's girls varsity basketball team to assert itself Friday, Jan. 16.

By the end of the first quarter, the Saints (3-8) had a comfortable lead over the (4-9) Wiscasset Wolverines — and they never looked back.

St. Dom's was able to ride an early lead to a 55-43 victory and improve its playoff chances with the win.

The Saints were also able to capitalize on fouls. When St. Dom's was fouled, the Saints didn't make it a habit of missing. The Saints sunk 18 of their 26 foul shots.

After the first quarter, the two teams were evenly matched, but unfortunately for Wiscasset, the Wolverines couldn't overcome the early lead.

The Saints scored 19 first-quarter points against Wiscasset's 7. From there, the two teams were tied, 36-36.

St. Dom's Chloe Dwinell did most of her damage in the first half, as the lanky sophomore scored 14 of her 18 points before half time. When Wiscasset was finally able to bottle-up Dwinell, senior Faith Grady took over.

Grady, the Saints primary ball-handler, utilized a sharp shooting eye from the top of the key and several post moves to get past Wiscasset's defenders en route to 28 points. Of those points, all but eight came in the second half.

But Wiscasset did have a secret weapon: freshman Grace Webber was able to register several steals and cool-off Grady for stretches at a time. Junior Colleen Hendricks, who finished with four points, put in a solid effort on both ends of the floor.

Wiscasset managed to cut the lead to 42-32 heading into the final quarter, but St. Dom's was able to hold on for the win.

Kayla Gordon scored 15 points for the Wolverines while Alecia Faulkingham netted 14 points.

Wiscasset is now 14th in the Western Class C standings, while the win propelled St. Dom's to 12th place. Only 13 teams from the conference make the state playoffs.

Wiscasset will have a chance to again make a late push for the playoffs with games against Madison on Wednesday, Jan. 21 and Boothbay Region, Tuesday, Jan. 27. Madison (6-7 overall) currently sits in ninth place in Western Class C, while Boothbay Region (11-1) is the second-ranked team.

A year ago, Wiscasset was able to ride a second-half surge to a spot in the state playoffs, and helped its case by defeating the Seahawks in Wiscasset.

This year, however, the Lady Seahawks present a much more formidable foe; when the two teams matched up in December, Boothbay Region was the 53-29 victor.