The rematch of last season’s Class B North tournament final between Ellsworth and Old Town certainly lived up to the hype on Wednesday night at the lively Mackenzie Gym in Old Town.
Ellsworth rallied from a six-point fourth quarter deficit to earn a hard-fought 53-48 victory behind junior forward Grace Jaffray’s game-high 28 points and 14 rebounds.
Ellsworth beat Old Town 59-52 in the B North final at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor last season.
Both came into the contest at 6-0 with defending state champ Ellsworth’s winning margin being an average of 43.6 points per game while Old Town’s was 28.7 points.
Old Town took a 42-36 lead into the fourth quarter but the Eagles rattled off an 11-2 run to open the period and take a lead they would never relinquish.
Addison Atherton opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and followed a basket by Old Town standout Saige Evans with a jumper off a Lily Bean pass.
“Those two baskets were huge,” said Ellsworth coach Andy Pooler. “We pride ourselves on our depth and those baskets gave us life.”
Jafrray scored the next five points beginning with a free throw.
She then drove the length of the court and converted a layup and hit a 3-pointer off an inbounds pass from Bean to make it 47-44 with 3:42 remaining.
Makayla Emerson subbed in to take free throws for the injured Lexi Degrasse and made one of two. Degrasse got a finger in her eye driving the lane and she never returned. She had 13 points.
“[Degrasse] was playing well,” said Old Town coach Heather Richards. “She was our momentum boost. It happened at a bad time.”
Jaffray sank two foul shots to build the lead to four but a conventional 3-point play by Evans made it a one-point game with 1:55 remaining.
But the Coyotes wouldn’t score again as the Eagles buckled down on defense and used two free throws by Bean with 1:20 left and one apiece by Abby Radel and Jaffray to seal the win.
“Their student section was yelling at me and I had my nerves going but I had to stay calm,” said Bean.
Old Town struggled to get off a shot in the final minute and wound up turning the ball over as the Eagles swarmed the ball.
“We ran a couple of bench players out there to give us some fresh legs, chase them around and give them a different look,” said Pooler. “We buckled down.
“This was a good gutsy win,” said Pooler who compared it to their 57-56 state championship game win over Spruce Mountain of Jay last season. “It was neck-and-neck. It came down to one last run and a couple foul shots in the end.”
Jaffray scored 12 first-quarter points as Ellsworth built a 20-15 lead but Old Town outscored Ellsworth 11-7 in the second period to pull with one behind eight points from sophomore guard Taylor Loring.
Old Town rattled off a 12-2 run to close out the third period and build a 42-36 lead.
Evans and Degrasse each had six points.
Jaffray shot just 3-for-16 from the floor in the second and third quarters and admitted to being frustrated with herself.
“But being able to keep your composure is real important,” said Jaffray who responded with nine fourth-quarter points. “We always say the next shot is going in.
“We worked together as a team. Between steals and good defense in the last few minutes, we were able to win,” said Jaffray.
In addition to her points in the second half, she pulled down 11 of her rebounds.
“I’ve struggled to rebound by my expectations so I wanted to get some rebounds for the team,” said Jaffray.
The tireless Jaffray and Evans were immense in the paint. They attacked the rim at both ends of the court.
Jaffray had three steals to go with her 28 points and 14 rebounds. Atherton finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Bean contributed six points, four rebounds and two assists and Abby Radel had five points, three rebounds and two assists.
Evans wound up with 17 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. Degrasse had three rebounds to go with her 13 points before leaving the game with her eye injury, and Loring wound up with 11 points and two rebounds. Emerson chipped in with four points and six rebounds as she was hampered by foul trouble, and Danica Brown had three assists to go with three points.
“Our girls played well. We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Richards. “It was back and forth and whoever withstood the [momentum] swings was going to come out on top.”
“Old Town is awesome,” said Pooler. “They hit big shots, they grabbed big rebounds. Evans is a phenomenal player. Both teams gave everything. You have to grind. We got some key stops at the end.”
Ellsworth will host Houlton on Saturday at 12:30 while Old Town will travel to Mount Desert Island for a Friday game at 7.