AUBURN — A pair of three-point plays by Ella Pelletier in the first quarter epitomized Oxford Hills’ 65-32 win over Edward Little in a Class AA North girls basketball matchup Tuesday.
The Vikings got to the hoop early and often, scoring on layups and getting to the free-throw line, where they shot a perfect 8 for 8 in the game.
Pelletier scored 10 first-half points, including those six in the first quarter, during which Oxford Hills outscored Edward Little 19-2. The freshman, who only played three quarters, finished with a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds.
“I’m her father, but tonight I don’t even care how much she scored because she was a beast on the boards,” Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier said. “She was ripping down any rebound she could, and I had to tell them at the timeout when she was getting subbed out that someone else is going to have to rebound because she’s coming out. She’s not 6 feet, but she plays like it sometimes, and I like that. She’s been around basketball so much that she understands how to play, and every freshman goes through those roller coaster moments, but she played well tonight.
“She has a knack for being around the basketball, and it’s not something you teach. She just knows where the ball is going and goes and gets it.”
The Vikings (8-0) got out in transition often, outpacing the Red Eddies (2-7) multiple times and often winning possession of loose balls.
Sierra Carson was all over the court in the first half for the Vikings, scoring 11 points, notching three steals and grabbing two rebounds.
“I’ve said this from the beginning, she’s started this year basically as a freshman,” Pelletier said of Carson. “She’s been hurt for the last two years, so what you’re seeing right now is just a kid that, because he’s played so much basketball, her development in high school basketball is coming so much quicker. The goal is that when the playoffs come around she’s playing as a junior, maybe even a senior. She’s definitely, her progression has been exactly where we want it to be. It’s awesome.”
After Edward Little’s Jenny Chaput scored a layup 30 seconds into the game, the Red Eddies went cold from the field and didn’t score again until the second quarter, when Nikkie Clark’s 3-pointer ended Oxford Hills streak of 25 unanswered points and cut its lead to 27-5 with six minutes left in the first half.
“Sometimes we are a product of how well we start,” Edward Little coach Chris Cifelli said. “Those shots didn’t fall early, and then the difficult part is that when you know what the other team is going to do and they’re still able to do it. They got out in the fast break, we knew they’d press us and when you get caught in that first wave it’s sometimes hard to overcome that.”
Chaput scored another layup in the second quarter, and Savannah Green made two free throws off the bench and grabbed a few rebounds for Edward Little.
Oxford Hills sophomore Tristen Derenburger hit a couple of 3-pointers in the first half to help the Vikings build a 39-11 halftime lead.
Pelletier was particularly prolific on the boards in the third quarter, grabbing nine rebounds and scoring five points. Molly Corbett scored five points as well in the third and Oxford Hills outscored Edward Little 16-7, growing its cushion to 55-18.
Edward Little outscored Oxford Hills 14-10 in the final quarter.
“I think one of the things we really talked about pregame and had to remind ourselves about is pride,” Cifelli said. “Pride can be a downfall, too, sometimes with too much pride you’re easier to knock off. But, regardless of the score, you still need to play. We have to not worry about what the scoreboard is and just play our game. If we allow this game to be something super negative, it can affect us down the road. We worked on running our sets, get some good possessions, start working on defense and we had some positive things.”
Derenburger scored eight of her 14 points for the Vikings in the fourth quarter. Carson finished with 13 points.
Clark and Chaput scored four points apiece in the final period. Chaput led the Red Eddies with eight points, while Clark scored seven.
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