TURNER – Abby Downs wasn’t thinking about what if it does. She was thinking about what if it doesn’t.

With two separate key free throws late in regulation Tuesday night, the Edward Little senior prepared herself on the blocks just in case. A made free throw in that situation meant a valuable lead for the Red Eddies. Missed free throws meant that Downs needed to go to work.

“All I was thinking was that if that ball doesn’t go, we need the ball back,” said Downs. “So we can have a chance to run down the clock. That’s our big thing at the end of the game. We’ve played a lot of close games. I just knew we needed that rebound.”

Twice in the closing minutes, Downs grabbed the vital rebound and secured crucial possessions. The Red Eddies used those second chances to preserve the lead in a 51-49 win over Leavitt.

Those two boards led to five critical EL points in the final two minutes and dashed Leavitt’s hopes for the victory. The Hornets had a last ditch opportunity at the equalizer, but a shot by Tori Zupancic didn’t fall.

“The kids played very good tonight,” said Leavitt coach Tammy Anderson. “We had every opportunity to win. I can’t ask for anything more out of the kids.”

At 9-8 and ranked 11th in Eastern A, a win would have bolstered Leavitt’s playoff hopes. Now a shot at a preliminary game comes down to Thursday’s game with Oxford Hills.

“If we win, we’ll be in definitely,” said Anderson. “If we don’t win, we’ve got to count on some other things to happen. We’d obviously like to keep it in our hands.”

For EL (15-2) the win likely secures second in Eastern A and a berth in the KVAC championship game next Monday.

“We didn’t play as well as I would have liked defensively, but I give (Leavitt) a lot of credit for making some big shots,” said Jipson, whose team hadn’t given up more than 43 points all season. “I thought my kids made some big shots at the end. We’ve had a lot of games like this.”

EL led for all of the second half but couldn’t shake the Hornets. EL got a lead with key shots from Kirsten Prue or Kayla Cummings in the fourth only to watch Leavitt rally from four or five points down. Prue and Cummings combined for all 13 points in the fourth. Cummings finished with 24 while Prue added 13.

“Abby Downs came up big,” said Jipson. “Kirsten Prue’s 3 was huge. Cummings made a couple free throws when she needed them. We had several different heroes.”

Courtney Anderson led Leavitt with 21 while Hannah Whitaker and Adrianna Newton added 12 and 10 respectively.

A Prue 3-pointer with 3:42 left made it 46-42. After a Whitaker free throw, Leavitt got within one when Anderson fed Whitaker for a score with 1:51 left. On EL’s next possession, Cummings was fouled but missed both free throws. Downs grabbed the second miss, and EL quickly got a timeout. The Red Eddies set up a play for the inbounds pass. Francesca Lally fed Cummings in the post for the three-point play with 1:44 left.

“Frankie Lally made a great pass,” said Jipson. “I think what helped us is that everyone was so worried about Prue.”

After two Anderson free throws made it 49-47 with 1:29 left. Emily Grund was sent to the line. Her missed free throw was grabbed by Downs. That led to Cummings getting fouled. She hit both free throws for a 51-47 lead with 27 seconds remaining.

“The key is to be strong with the ball,” said Downs. “With the rebounds, I could have easily lost it out of my hands. I was hanging on to the ball for dear life and trying to stay as strong as I could.”

Leavitt still produced a scare. A basket by Whitaker cut the lead with 17 seconds left. After an EL turnover, Leavitt rushed the ball down for a Zupanic shot. Whitaker had a try at the rebound but couldn’t secure it.

“Toward the end, I told them rebounding is going to win the game,” said Anderson. “Guess what won the game, rebounds. It just happened to be two big rebounds at the other end for the other team.”