PARIS — It was time to pull out all the stops.

That’s what the Edward Little girls’ basketball team concluded at halftime Thursday night. After watching Oxford Hills execute masterfully in the first half and build a double-digit lead early in the third, the Red Eddies knew they had to go for broke.

“We went in at halftime and said we’re either going to lose by 80 because we’re going to give up a million layups or we’re going to come back and win the game,” said EL coach Craig Jipson. “Come hell or high water, we were were just going to go for the win.”

EL picked up the intensity and the defensive pressure in the second half and got a little offense to go with it. The Red Eddies managed to have the lead by the end of the third quarter and held off the Vikings in the fourth for a 41-40 win.

“Basically we didn’t want to look at the scoreboard until the end of the game when it was crunch time,” said Kayla Cummings, who had 11 points for EL including five in the fourth during a stretch in which her club built a five-point lead.” We had to keep playing our game. We couldn’t get frustrated. We knew they were short personnel and we had a deep bench. So we could run, run run and get them tired and wear them down.”

Kirsten Prue led EL (4-0) with 18 while Crissy Lewis added 10. The Vikings (1-4), which will be without all-star center Megan Joyce for the rest of the season because of injury, got 15 from Brooke Ladd. Abbie Eastman added nine.

“At halftime, we knew they were going to come out and trap,” said Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier. “That’s a good team. They pressed the hell out of us and took advantage of it. Still, it came down to the end and a couple of foul shots, we had a chance to win.”

Down 22-13 at the half, an Allie Nolan rebound made it an 11-point lead, but EL quickly began to rally. The Red Eddies used a trapping defense that swarmed the Vikings, forcing six turnovers and limiting shots in the third. EL also got a hot hand offensively, hitting its first three shots and five of its first six.

“I just felt like we had no energy in the first half,” said Jipson. “In the second half, I was telling them we’ve got to make some energy on the bench. We have to have some enthusiasm and play with some energy.”

A Cummings drive and back-to-back post baskets by Lewis started an 11-0 run that quickly erased the lead. After a Cummings jumper, Prue drilled a 3-pointer to tie it with three minutes left. After Caitlin Hanley put the Vikings back ahead, Prue hit another 3 for the lead, 29-28 after three.

“We knew a surge was going to come eventually,” said Cummings. “We just had to hang in there. We knew they were going to fall. We had to stay confident.”

A Lindsay Fox leaner tied the game 33-33 with 5:07 left, but Cummings hit two free throws and put back a rebound. Prue added a free throw for a 38-33 lead. The Vikings kept charging. Ladd hit her fifth 3-pointer of the night, and a Fox free throw cut the lead to one. Prue sank three free throws the rest of the way, and Oxford Hills missed quality chances to tie it at the foul line and from the floor in the final minute. The Vikings got one last possession, but EL defended the 3-pointer well. Eastman had to settle for two at the buzzer.

“That was by far the best game of the year we’ve played,” said Pelletier. “All around, defensively, executing our game-plan — the first half we executed our game-plan to a T. That’s why we had the game plan we had in the first half. We wanted a chance to win at the end.”

The Vikings, limited in the post and on the bench with the loss of Joyce, utilized its outside shooting and fine passing to open up the 22-13 lead at the half. The Vikings hit five 3-pointers and spread the offense to milk the clock down. It had EL frustrated and struggling to get in sync at both ends of the floor.

“They showed a lot of heart and had a lot of courage,” said Jipson. “Nate’s game-plan was brilliant. He knew he didn’t have a deep bench. Brooke Ladd made some big shots. They have seniors that have been to the state championship game and won a lot of games the last few years. I thought their seniors played with a lot of pride.”