PORTLAND — Last winter the Portland High girls’ basketball team was the second of Edward Little’s four victims en route to the Eddies’ Class AA state championship.

Thursday night at the Portland Expo, the Bulldogs got a measure of revenge.

Fourth-ranked Portland rode a smothering defensive effort, 22 points from Amanda Kabantu and a clutch 3-pointer from Grace Stacey to a 48-43 victory over fifth-seeded Edward Little and, despite its 10-9 record, a berth in the Class AA North semifinals.

Portland, which also got 10 points from Gemima Motema, will meet top-ranked Oxford Hills (17-2) at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Cross Insurance Arena.

“(Edward Little) pushed us for 32 minutes and we got everything we expected,” Bulldogs Coach Gerry Corcoran said. “We played very well at times and we played (not so well) at times.”

The first quarter was one of runs — the first five points went to Edward Little and the next six to Portland. After the Red Eddies took an 8-6 lead, the Bulldogs — behind a pair of 3s from Kabantu — scored eight straight for a 14-8 advantage.

Kabantu had nine points in the period and a putback by Jill Joyce just before the buzzer gave Portland an 18-10 lead.

Back roared Edward Little in the second quarter, taking advantage of the Bulldogs’ foul trouble and creating some offense off of its defense. A jumper from Jade Perry made it 24-24, then two foul shots by Chantel Ouellette with 46.5 seconds remaining gave the Red Eddies (10-9) their first lead since 8-6, and a 27-25 halftime advantage.

The lead changed hands five times in the third quarter, and in the final minute, after drawing a charge on defense, Stacey drained a clutch 3 to put Portland ahead to stay, 36-34.

“One of my favorite things is trying to draw charges because it changes the momentum of the game, and at the other end I was surprised it went in,” Stacey said. “I was pretty far out. That was a big one.”

Layups from Motema and Kabantu provided some breathing room and, despite a pair of Perry 3-pointers, the Bulldogs were able to hold on thanks to four late free throws from Kabantu.

“I just tried not to think (about the pressure) and pretend I was at practice,” said Kabantu, who also had 12 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. “I remembered last year’s loss and wanted to beat them so badly.”

The Red Eddies were paced by 15 points from Perry, and also got 12 from Hannah Chaput and 10 from Grace Fontaine.

But 17 turnovers were too much to overcome.

“There were a couple times there we could have cashed our chips in, but we kept battling back and had some opportunities to tie or go ahead, but they made defensive stops and our shots didn’t fall,” Edward Little coach Chris Cifelli said. “We’re just like every other team, we had our ups and downs this year, but the kids were able to overcome.

“You never want to go out, but if you go out, you want to go out with your best.”

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