By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

AUBURN – It could be a week of redemption for the Edward Little girls’ basketball team.

The Red Eddies took the first step toward vindication Tuesday night.

After losing a heartbreaker to Oxford Hills earlier in the season, the Red Eddies made amends with a 51-43 victory.

“We just wanted to come in and dominate,” said EL guard Brittney French, whose team plays Lewiston Thursday, another team EL lost to the first time. “That first game was a tough loss for us, and we just had to capitalize. We’ve certainly been working extremely hard on our defense. We’ve just put it all together as a team and that’s the important thing.”

EL saw a lead dissipate in the previous loss, but the Red Eddies didn’t let that happen again. Oxford Hills erased a four-point EL advantage in the final quarter for a brief lead, but the Red Eddies quickly turned the tide.

“What it tells my kids is that we can play with anybody on a given night,” said EL coach Craig Jipson.

EL (7-10) was ranked 11th in the latest Eastern A Heal Point standings, but Jipson doesn’t expect the win to propel his team higher. If anything, it should solidify EL’s position. Oxford Hills (13-4) could drop from the third spot, if teams like Bangor or Messalonskee gain ground.

“We’ll play a prelim at home and deal with it,” said Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier, whose club would earn a prelim bye if it stays in third. “It may be better for us to play that extra game.”

French led EL with 16 points, while Allison Forgues added 13 and Kelsey Nicolas 12. EL was immense from the foul line in the final quarter, hitting 12 of 14 attempts.

“We’ve been talking all year about clutch foul shooting and taking care of the basketball down the stretch,” said Jipson. “I thought we did a great job of that. That’s what wins tournament basketball games.”

Though Oxford Hills had some luck with a pair of buzzer-beaters to end the first two quarters, the Vikings good fortune didn’t persist. Oxford Hills struggled to execute against EL’s zone. Kari Pelletier had 13 points for the Vikings, and Kelsey Pelletier added 12 while Terry Bunce had 11.

“We weren’t ready to play,” said Pelletier. “It doesn’t happen often. As a coach, you watch out for those type of games. I give 100 percent of the credit to Edward Little. They played hard. They really wanted to win the game, and they played better than us. They worked hard for every loose ball.”

The Vikings took a 42-40 lead on free throws by Kari Pelletier with 2:27 left, but EL tied it with a pair from Forgues. EL went ahead for good with 1:48 left when Nicolas put back a rebound on a Kate Dargie shot.

The Vikings closed to within 44-43 with a Bunce free throw, but EL, which had three starters playing with four fouls in the final quarter, finished off the game from the line. French hit four free throws while Forgues and Dargie combined for three to pad the lead in the final minute.