When Ridgeview was running roughshod through the Intermountain Conference the past four seasons, there were games on the schedule that were basically guaranteed wins.

Now over halfway through the new-look IMC girls basketball slate, the Ravens, along with the five other IMC teams, are finding out that there are not many, if any, easy contests.

“Every game is a battle,” said Ridgeview coach Alicia Love. “Now it feels like every game is a grind. Whoever is going to hit shots is going to be the team that wins.”

To keep pace with both Summit and Mountain View in the IMC standings, the Ravens had to overcome a slow start offensively and dig out of a halftime deficit to take down the Lava Bears 46-37 Monday night at Bend High.

“We knew they were going to put up a fight and we had to be ready for a battle,” said Ridgeview senior Brooklyn Homan. “We knew we had to stay mentally tough through the whole game.”

Points were difficult to come by in the first 16 minutes. Although Ridgeview (8-9 overall, 5-3 IMC) held a 9-8 lead after the first quarter, a pair of 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds from senior Olive Nye and junior Katie Karpstein put Bend (4-12, 3-5) on top 19-16 by halftime.

“We had to be more patient on the offensive end and play with more intensity on the defensive end,” Homan said. “Coach said that defense was going to win this game, and it definitely did.”

Said Ravens senior Laci Pentzer: “Our mental toughness got us through this one.”

After scoring just 16 points in the first half, the Ravens turned defensive stops into baskets, scoring 17 points in the third quarter. Homan scored seven of her team-high 15 points in the period to help the Ravens retake the lead.

“(Homan) has been stepping up big for us these last couple of weeks,” Love said. “She has been a leading scorer and in control on the offensive end. She is stepping up as a leader and doing all the little things that matter.”

The Ravens kept up the defensive intensity, limiting the Lava Bears to 18 points in the second half, while building a double-digit lead late in the fourth quarter to secure their second win over the Lava Bears this season.

“The game comes easier when you play like you should,” said Pentzer, who finished with eight points.

The Lava Bears were led by Nye’s 15 points, with Karpstein, freshman Peyton Smith and sophomore Caroline Covlin each adding six points.

The race in the IMC is becoming clearer as teams start the second half of conference play. With the win Monday night, along with Mountain View handing Summit its first loss in eight games, the Ravens have a small, two-game cushion over Redmond and Bend for the final of three guaranteed playoff spots.

After starting the season with six losses in their first nine games, the Ravens have made strides since the calendar flipped to 2023, winning five of their last eight contests.

Ridgeview and Mountain View are tied for second in the IMC, both behind Summit, which has a two-game lead in the IMC with seven games left.

“We just have to keep playing like we did tonight, but even better,” Homan said. “We have to keep creating energy.”