AUBURN – You can argue about the aesthetics of Edward Little’s defensive effort Wednesday night. Brunswick’s dedicated, traveling spectators and its coaching staff certainly did.

What’s not up for debate is whether or not it was the Red Eddies’ best performance with their backs to the basket this winter. Given the size, strength and ballyhoo of their opponent, the blue-collar white shirts turned in a lockdown for the ages.

EL limited Brunswick to one field goal over the final 14 minutes, 4 seconds and hammered out a 40-29 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference girls’ hoop victory over the Dragons.

“It was fantastic. Definitely the best we’ve played all year,” said EL junior guard Kirsten Prue, who scored 13 of her game-high 16 points in the second half.

Kayla Cummings and Frankie Lally added eight points apiece for the Red Eddies (10-2), who avenged a 43-37 road loss on Dec. 27 and gained significant Heal Point ground on the top-ranked club in Eastern Class A.

Badly out-sized and egregiously out-rebounded, EL frustrated Brunswick (9-3) into 1-of-16 shooting in the fourth quarter and 10-for-39 (26 percent) overall.

Claire Baecher, the Dragons’ 6-foot-3 post presence, led Brunswick with 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots before fouling out with 3:09 remaining. The 6-2 half of Brunswick’s senior tandem, Mardi Artis, settled for five points and 14 boards.

Although foul totals were virtually dead-even, with both teams finishing the game in the double bonus, Brunswick coach Rita O’Connor Maines vehemently disputed the nature of what merited a whistle and what didn’t.

“Mardi had three people hanging on her every single possession. Every single possession. So did Claire. This was the worst officiated game I have ever seen in my entire life,” Maines said. “Hands down. No question about it. (The referees) totally took over right from the start. That last foul on Claire was hysterical. Give me a break. We’re getting hammered on and pounded inside. It was ridiculous.

“They get away with a lot of bumping and grinding in there,” she continued. “In my opinion it’s atrocious, and it’s not fair to the girls. When they get bumped and banged around like that, it just is not what basketball should be all about.”

EL successfully rotated fresh defenders to the ball in hopes of smothering Artis, Baecher and 5-11 Emily Bryant every time they touched the ball in Brunswick’s half-court sets.

Prue, Cummings, Lally, Alyssa Levesque, Abby Downs and Katelyn St. Hilaire led the wave that forced 20 Brunswick turnovers. The Eddies committed only eight.

Brunswick rallied to tie twice in the third quarter before its extended cold snap, but EL never trailed after scoring seven unanswered points in a 35-second span of the first quarter to snag a 10-5 lead.

Cummings scored two easy buckets on feeds from Levesque and Prue after the Eddies’ broke Brunswick’s full-court pressure. Downs’ steal then led to Lally’s 3-pointer.

The Dragons enjoyed no shortage of chances in the fourth quarter. Trailing by only four, 29-25, they kept EL off the scoreboard for the first 3:33.

EL permitted an offensive rebound after Brunswick’s first seven missed field goals of the period, paving the way to the Dragons’ staggering 41-22 overall edge in that department. The Dragons also went 1-for-6 from the free-throw line in the fateful fourth, while Lally, Prue and Cummings combined to sink 9-of-10.

“Our post players are about 5-8, and it’s tough to get on the girls for that. God gave them the size. They’re trying,” said EL coach Craig Jipson. “That’s not the first time that’s happened. We’re just getting killed on the boards by everybody, and for us to win later in the season we’ve got to do a little bit better.”

Baecher, who erupted for 22 points in Brunswick’s previous victory over EL, was held silent in the first and fourth quarters.

“We just worked on getting three people on them and help-side and making sure they didn’t get the ball,” Prue said.