Harris dominated on the inside when the Cougars’ Caitlin Kane (game-high 20 points) was saddled with four personal fouls midway through the third quarter and Mt. Blue owning a 29-26 lead.

“In the beginning of the game, we were a little shaky,” Harris said. “I knew I had to focus on the inside to take advantage of my size.”

A 6-foot center, Harris was steady and consistent in the paint, especially in the second half when the Cougars needed an offensive presence to shut down a hustling Waterville (1-4) team that scrapped and clawed its way through the game.

“Mt. Blue’s size wore us down in the second half,” Waterville coach Rob Rodrigue said. “I was really pleased with the way our girls continued to attack their pressure throughout the game.”

With Kane on the bench, Harris scooped up an offensive rebound and powered the ball back into the basket for a 31-26 lead with 3:21 left in the third quarter. Waterville’s Fotini Shanos countered on a fast break drive before Eryn Doiron finished the quarter off for the Cougars hitting a three-pointer and one-of-two free throws for a 35-28 advantage.

Mt. Blue (2-3) strung together six straight points in the fourth quarter to take its largest lead of the game, 41-30 with 3:01 remaining. Harris converted another offensive rebound, along with a power move in the paint, followed by Olivia Ryan’s strong move to the basket to finish off the run.

“This was a really critical game for us,” Kane, who scored 15 of her points in the first half, said. “We really needed to play well in back-to-back games and I think we did that tonight.”

Mt. Blue lost 55-40 to powerful Lawrence, last Friday, but managed to stay in the game until the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

“We’ve been struggling offensively,” Mt. Blue coach Gavin Kane said. “We played well at Lawrence, but we need to find someone who is going to put the ball in the basket.”

In a close first half, Waterville took its only lead of the game when Sophie Webb scored on a baseline drive with 2:34 left in the half to take a 19-18 lead.

Kane answered quickly, knocking down a three-pointer from straight away, followed by a driving lay-up for a 23-19 halftime lead.

From the free throw line, Mt. Blue connected on 7-of-10 shots while Waterville finished the game making 3-of-7 attempts.