CUMBERLAND — The steadiness that defined Maria Ouimet’s first round in the Maine Women’s Amateur championship had disappeared in the second round. Short putts were missing the cup. Bogeys were filling up her card.

“I had about six three-putts,” she said. “Overall, it was just one of those really frustrating days.”

Frustrating, perhaps, but in the end it was another productive one. Ouimet weathered her struggles thanks to a strong back nine and shot a 6-over 78 on Tuesday, moving her to 7 over for the tournament and increasing her lead to six strokes going into the tournament’s final round at Val Halla Golf & Recreation.

“It felt worse than it was,” said Ouimet, a Woodlands Club player who is pursuing her first Maine Women’s Amateur title. “After a while, I was like ‘Stop thinking so much.’ One of the ladies that I was playing with even said that.”

Ruth Colucci, the only other player without a round in the 80s, shot 79 and is in second place at 13 over. Abby Flanagan, who entered the day four shots behind Ouimet in a tie for second, dropped to third at 14 over after carding an 81.

Two-time defending champion Jade Haylock is in fourth place at 16 over after a 76 that was the best score of the day and allowed her to rise 10 spots. Elizabeth Holden, Erin Holmes and Julie Treadwell are tied for fifth at 18 over.

They’re all facing the tall task of trying to catch Ouimet, who was looking vulnerable after playing her first 10 holes in 6 over. She had five bogeys and a double bogey, and when she bogeyed the 10th while Flanagan made par, her lead was down to two strokes.

That was the closest it got, thanks to a finishing stretch in which Ouimet, perhaps the longest hitter in the tournament, played the remaining eight holes at even par. She birdied the par-5 12th, two-putting after reaching the green with a 4-iron from 205 yards. She also reached the par-5 14th in two, setting up another birdie.

“Having the short par 5s helped,” she said. “The front nine is trickier, so the back nine, with those short par 4s and par 5s, it feels like I can hit some good ones and put myself in good position.”

Maria Ouimet watches her putt on the ninth green Tuesday during the second round of the Maine Women’s Amateur at Val Halla Golf & Recreation in Cumberland. Ouimet, of the Woodlands Club, shot a 78 and extended her lead to six strokes. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)<?xml version="1.0"?> Purchase this image

A little advice from playing partner Treadwell, who shot 85, helped sort things out.

“She said something about ‘You seem like you’re just thinking a lot,'” Ouimet said. “I really hadn’t thought about it, but I (realized) she’s probably right.”

Colucci, of Biddeford-Saco Country Club, followed a similar path in her round. After four bogeys and a double in the first seven holes, she played the remaining 11 holes at 2 over to clinch a spot in the final group.

“My driver’s been really well … and my approach shots were good, too. My putting is the opposite,” she said. “I was short yesterday on some holes, so I tried to be more aggressive. … I needed to back it off.”

Colucci said she is not overthinking where she is on the leaderboard.

“I’m looking forward to it, just to come out and have a good day,” she said. “I’m just going to go and play. That’s my look for tomorrow.”

Joining them in the final group will be Flanagan, a Springbrook Golf Course player who made two birdies on the front nine but saw her chances of keeping pace with Ouimet dashed when she found the hazard on the 12th hole and settled for triple bogey.

A birdie on the 18th gave her some momentum going into the final round, but she faces a seven-stroke gap.

“It was definitely not my best round. It really felt like such a grind out there,” she said. “(Monday), my irons were on target. They were going the distances. Today, I was mishitting them a lot, not hitting them perfect on the lines.”

After a disappointing first round, Haylock was at 1 over for the day through 15 holes and within six shots of Ouimet before a double bogey on the 16th and bogey on the 17th.

She was 11 shots back after the opening round, but wasn’t ready to concede the championship.

“Not at all, not for me,” she said. “I was still thinking I need to have a good round to get back in it.”

Haylock erased an eight-shot deficit after one round last year. She knows it’s a steeper climb this time.

“I’m confident I can work my way back up,” she said. “Maybe not catch Maria, but even just second place, it’s something to look forward to and something for me to chase.”