LEWISTON — Edward Little hung its hat on its defense throughout Thursday’s game against rival Lewiston.

The Red Eddies needed that defense right up until the final buzzer, when they contested a desperation 3-pointer by Blue Devils star Natalie Beaudoin to escape with a 40-38 AA North girls basketball victory on Coach Masse Court.

“The girls executed well down the stretch,” Edward Little first-year coach Kristina Blais said. “We’ve been really focusing on discipline on defense, staying out of foul trouble, that sort of stuff. Especially when we’re so shorthanded, with injury, it’s been really important that the girls stay disciplined, and they executed it well down the stretch today.”

Beaudoin brought the Blue Devils (0-3) back to within one possession twice in the fourth quarter after the Red Eddies (1-2) looked like they might be able to pull away in a closely contested game.

She converted a bank shot and a 3 to get Lewiston within 36-35, then made a contested layup in transition with one minute left to draw the Blue Devils within 40-38.

But she needed to go coast-to-coast with 6.9 seconds left for a chance at a game-winner, and her shot was well-defended and fell short.

“I give EL a ton of credit, their kids played really hard. They hit the big baskets in the big moments,” Lewiston coach Craig Jipson said. “But I like, you know, our kids could have caved when it was 40-35, we clawed back to 40-38 and had the ball at the end with the chance to win it, and we just didn’t put it down.”

Beaudoin finished with a game-high 20 points.

“Natalie is an incredible player,” Blais said. “There’s really not much you can do against a player like that, except just try and stay down with a hand high.”

Edward Little’s Saphryn Humason-Fulgham and Violet Vincent defend Lewiston’s Natalie Beaudoin as she dribbles the ball up the court after grabbing a rebound during Thursday’s game in Lewiston. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Saphryn Humason-Fulgham came up big for Edward Little in the second half, scoring eight of her 11 points. Rachel Penny paced the Red Eddies with 12.

“They were boxing-and-oneing Rachel, so other kids had to step up, and they stepped up,” Blais said.

Masya Way scored four of her six points in the second half, and Savannah Green scored all of her four points after halftime.

The first half was back and forth, with the defenses outdueling the offenses. Beaudoin poured in seven points for Lewiston in the first quarter, and the Blue Devils held a 11-10 lead after eight minutes.

The Red Eddies held Beaudoin scoreless in the second quarter, as the Edward Little defense stiffened up in the period.

The Red Eddies forced a 5-second closely guarded violation and a 10-second backcourt violation on consecutive defensive possessions. They pressured the Blue Devils into another 5-second guarding violation later in the quarter.

“I wish we would have gone to the rim earlier in the game,” Jipson said. “In the fourth quarter, we had some moments we got in and had some great penetrate-and-pitches. … EL played great defense.”

The Blue Devils were able to find some points, however, and went up 16-12 on Gabby Roman’s layup off a Beaudoin coast-to-coast dribble and assist. Beaudoin also blocked three shots down the stretch.

The Red Eddies took a 17-16 lead into halftime after finishing the first half on a 5-0 run. Violet Vincent started the run with a basket and later added a free throw, and Penny gave Edward Little the lead on a steal and transition layup with just over 30 seconds left in the half.

Roman finished with six points for Lewiston, and Koral Morin matched that total with a pair of 3-pointers.

Edward Little’s victory is the first for Blais, a Lewiston graduate, as a high school coach. Not only did it come against her alma mater, but also against Jipson, who coached the Red Eddies for 12 years — including the seasons when Blais was playing for the Blue Devils.