FARMINGDALE — Carrabec girls basketball coach Skip Rugh and his players have made some steps forward this season after a slow start. Tuesday night was a test of how far they have come.

The Cobras led by nine early in the third quarter, but they had led in games earlier this season and ended up losing. So when Hall-Dale raced back to tie the score, it looked like Carrabec could once again rekindle some early-season blues.

But as they have done lately, the Cobras regained their composure. Carrabec made several crucial shots in the fourth quarter and held on for a 40-33 victory.

“They would have panicked earlier in the season, and they just kept their heads down and kept working hard,” Rugh said. “This is one of the better defensive games that they’ve played. They played really tough defense tonight.”

“We have come together as a team, big-time,” said Carrabec’s Mickayla Willette, who scored a game-high 14 points. “Our support on the bench has gone through the roof, and we’ve just gotten together on and off the floor. It’s made a huge impact with our outcomes in our games.”

Neither team played especially well in the first half. Hall-Dale was 2 for 21 from the floor, but still trailed only 15-9 at the break.

“We really wanted to push the tempo and use our speed advantage,” Hall-Dale coach Brandon Terrill said. “But I think we did that a little bit to excess. So we talked at halftime about just settling down and playing more within ourselves.”

Carrabec led 19-10 early in the third quarter, and Willette had scored 13 of those points. Hall-Dale’s Eva Shepherd rattled in a running one-hander for the Bulldogs’ first field goal in more than 12 minutes, and that was part of a 9-0 run that tied the game at 19.

Dani Sweet had six of her 10 points in the third quarter for Hall-Dale, and it looked like Hall-Dale would enter the fourth quarter down 24-23 after two free throws by Molly French. But Carrabec’s Jerzee Rugh knocked down a long jumper at the third quarter buzzer, and Carrabec led 26-23.

The Cobras still led 30-25 when standout center Emma Pluntke picked up her fourth foul with 5:01 left. Pluntke sat out the rest of the game, but Carrabec increased the lead with outside shots by Rugh and Liberty Chestnut.

“We switched up to a little zone press,” Terrill said. “We got them to take a couple quick shots, and they made them. Credit to them.”

“That’s what we’ve been doing all year — we’ve been making them key ones,” coach Rugh said.

Hall-Dale trailed 37-33 after a 3-pointer by Shepherd with 19 seconds left, but could not get any closer.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Matt_DiFilippo