AUGUSTA — The stars come out at tournament time, but sometimes a player can surprise you, too. Such was the case for the Edward Little High School girls basketball team on Friday night.
Sophomore Jordyn Reynolds came off the bench for the Red Eddies and had her best game of the season. The 6-foot Reynolds scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, helping No. 5 Edward Little take a 43-32 win over No. 5 Mt. Blue in the Eastern A quarterfinals at the Augusta Civic Center.
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“Jordyn Reynolds played an absolutely phenomenal game,” Edward Little coach Craig Jipson said. “That was her break-out game.”
The Red Eddies (15-4) will take on either No. 1 Bangor or No. 8 Hampden in the semifinals Wednesday at 4 p.m. Mt. Blue ends the season 11-8.
Reynolds scored 10 of her points in the third quarter, when the Eddies overcame a 17-16 halftime deficit and took control of the game.
“It was amazing to show what I can do as a player,” Reynolds, who pulled down seven offensive boards,” said. “I finally got out of my shell.”
Edward Little out-rebounded the Cougars, 40-20. Mt. Blue’s inside game suffered when senior Addie Brinkman picked up her third foul in the third quarter and had to sit.
“We did not rebound well tonight and that hurt us,” Mt. Blue coach Gavin Kane said. “And we did not shoot the ball well… It was a struggle for us from the field, but that’s a credit to their defense, too.”
Other than leading scorer Caitlin Kane, only three players made a field goal for the Cougars. Edward Little’s defensive staple was a 2-3 zone, a defense the Red Eddies hadn’t used in a game all season, Jipson said. The zone was the result of a 61-45 loss at Mt. Blue late in the season. The Eddies had to try something new to stop the Cougars’ strong dribble penetration.
“We had gotten our butts kicked at Mt. Blue a couple weeks ago,” Jipson said. “We just fouled too much against Mt. Blue.”
Edward Little led by as much as eight points in the third quarter and by seven throughout most of the fourth quarter. The Eddies made 7 of 9 free throws down the stretch to ice the win.
While the Cougars made just one field goal in the second quarter, they went 7 of 8 at the line in the second to take a 17-16 lead into the half. Caitlin Kane led Mt. Blue with 12 points, while Eryn Doiron added 11.
“I thought the kids gave a great effort,” coach Kane said. “They battled hard all year long.”
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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