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AUBURN — Edward Little head coach Frank Perry’s message to his team after scoring just four points in the first quarter was simple: “Remember who we are.” 

From that moment forward, the Red Eddies came alive, following up a slow start with an 18-point eruption in the second quarter and taking down Hampden Academy, 53-35, in a clash of Class A North girls basketball contenders Friday.  

“Just play Eddie basketball,” Perry said. “Try to remind them that — that we’re a good basketball team and we’re going to have our moments, and the other team’s going to have their runs, and we’re going to have our runs, and we hope that we wind up at the top of that at the end.”

The Broncos (11-3) entered the game as the No. 1 team in the A North Heal point standings. The loss drops them to fourth, while the Red Eddies (13-1) moved up to second behind Camden Hills.

“(Hampden’s) the best team in our conference right now, until us now, but very good team, and I think everyone did their job, and when everyone does their job, it just adds up to a win,” sophomore Elizabeth Galway said. 

Galway played the role of point forward to start, finding junior Alexis Creaser in the paint for Edward Little’s first two baskets. 

Galway’s role changed in the second quarter when the Red Eddies began to pour on the offense, from finding her teammates to getting to the paint and scoring herself. She scored seven of her team-high 14 points in the quarter, helping Edward Little take a 22-17 lead into halftime. 

“Basketball is just a game of runs, so (Hampden) ended up coming out hot in the first quarter and then they went slow, and when we noticed that they were kind of flat, that’s when we really started to pick things up,” Galway said.

Hampden was never able to recapture their momentum, and Edward Little’s offensive outburst continued through the final three quarters.

“Give (Edward Little) credit,” Broncos coach Nick Winchester said. “They made shots down the stretch, no matter how physical it was in both directions, and that was the difference in the game. They made good passes, good decisions.” 

Charlotte Ranger, a sophomore who scored 12 points, all from beyond the arc, was Edward Little’s other double-figure scorer. Creaser and junior Hope Fontaine chipped in eight points apiece. 

This win is the Red Eddies’ ninth straight, whereas the Broncos have lost two games in a row.

With four games left in the regular season for both programs, each game looms large. Both teams are off until Wednesday, when Edward Little visits Brunswick (4-9) and Hampden hosts Mt. Ararat (13-1), which is now third in the Heal point standings.