TOPSHAM — Mt. Ararat High School girls’ basketball coach Andy Morris has one of those fun problems that most coaches like to deal with.

With a solid 10-player rotation, Morris can throw any one of several starting combinations at an opponent, and use his bench to keep his Eagles fresh.

On Monday against rival Morse, Mt. Ararat’s bench led the charge, with Alexa Eaton tallying a team-high 12 points and Jaden Lohr chipping in 10 in a 50-42 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference victory over the visiting Shipbuilders.

Mt. Ararat forward Theresa Breed (55) dribbles up the court as teammates Grace Liedman (1) and Ainsley Bryant (3), along with Morse’s Marija Medenica (second from left) and Brook Kulis (11) look on. The Eagles downed the visiting Shipbuilders, 50-42, on Monday in Topsham. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)

At the mid-point of the regular season, the Eagles are 5-4 with a visit to Camden Hills set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

“That has not happened in my time here and the year before my time, and that is a huge milestone for us being above .500 at this point,” said Morris, whose Eagles have won four of their last five games.

In this win the starting five for Mt. Ararat struggled to make shots, as the Eagles missed their first 12 field goal attempts and trailed 8-3.

Into the game came Eaton, Lohr, Eliza Libby, Lauren Magno and Abby Sirois for Morris. His reserves put together a first-quarter closing 8-0 run for an 11-8 lead after eight minutes, with Lohr and Eaton both hitting a 3-pointer and Magno scoring inside off a Lohr assist.

Eaton and Lohr continued to make their shots in the second quarter, with Eaton picking up seven for 10 first-half points, followed by Lohr with eight. Combined with the two from Magno, the Mt. Ararat bench accounted for 20 of the Eagles’ 27 first-half points.

“They gave us a huge lift and have played great minutes for us,” said Morris of his bench. “They are playing their role, and tonight they came through with offense. Our starters struggled, and they came in and gave us that lift that we needed.

“We get after it in practice. The problem is we haven’t practiced much. When it is those 10 going at each other, it’s pretty fun to watch.”

“We work really hard in practice and shoot a lot, and we are a real deep team with a lot of potential,” said Eaton.

Morse guard Julia Goddard did her best to keep her Shipbuilders close. She drained three treys in the first half and led all scorers with 12 points as Morse went to the intermission down just one, 27-26, after a season-best 18-point second quarter.

“I am seeing them getting better and better. It is just about getting that confidence on offense,” said Morse coach Jan Veinot.

Morse guard Julia Goddard (4) tries to dribble past Mt. Ararat’s Ainsley Bryant (3) during Monday’s KVAC girls basketball game in Topsham. Goddard scored a game-high 19 points, but her Shipbuilders fell to Bryant’s Eagles, 50-42. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)

“We still have those hesitations. All I asked them to do tonight was work as hard as they can and they did that.”

Sloppy third

Neither team found a solid rhythm in the third quarter, as the Eagles and Shipbuilders combined for 15 turnovers. Morse struggled mightily at the free-throw line, making just 1-of-6 in the frame and 6-of-21 in the contest.

However, Goddard continued to shine, swishing her fourth 3-pointer, with Mt. Ararat holding a slim 36-34 edge with eight minutes remaining.

“Morse played great. Their offense, the Goddard girl was outstanding,” said Morris.

“It is the best that we have played this season,” said Goddard, who finished with a game-high 19 points. “I think we will just keep building our offense up and continue to play good defense.”

In the fourth quarter, Morse went cold after a trey by Dory Kulis drew the Shipbuilders to 44-42 with 5:08 remaining.

Eaton closed her big day, finishing a pass from Kyla Greenleaf for a 47-42 Mt. Ararat edge, and the Eagles made 3-of-6 at the line to pull away for the eight-point win.

“We are having fun. We just need to close out teams a bit better. Closing out is really important,” Eaton said.

“We need a win, but they played better,” said Veinot, whose Shipbuilders (0-8) host Edward Little on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Greenleaf finished with nine points and four assists for Mt. Ararat, while Ainsley Bryant and Grace Liedman chipped in six points apiece. Bryant pulled down nine rebounds and added four steals, while Eaton had eight boards.

Goddard pulled in six rebounds for Morse, with Marija Medenica picking up six points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Kulis, Abby Sreden and Kaylee Garland each chipped in four points.