The Ellsworth Eagles went on a 24-6 run that stretched from the second quarter and into the third on Wednesday night, and stayed unbeaten by completing a regular season sweep over the Old Town Coyotes 69-50 in Class B North girls basketball action at Kasaficas Gymnasium in Ellsworth.
In round two of the Class B heavyweights ranked #1 and #2 in the standings, Old Town would go on a 9-2 run to end the first quarter after trailing by two capped off by a three-pointer by Danica Brown to take an 18-13 advantage. After Ellsworth jumped back on top on a three-pointer by Grace Jaffray 21-19, the guests went on a spurt of 8-0 on three free throws by Taylor Loring, a three-point play the conventional way by Saige Evans, and two more from the charity stripe by Loring to push back in front with what was their largest lead of the night at 27-21. It was all Eagles after that, as they would end the first half on a run of their own of 11-4 to take the lead for good at intermission 32-31. The hosts put it away to start the third quarter, scoring 13 of the first 15 points (24-6 run overall) to push their advantage to 12. Jaffray and Lily Bean combined for nine of those 13. They would lead by as many as 20, outscoring Old Town 37-19 in the second half to improve to 12-0.
Elizabeth Boles led Ellsworth in the win with 19 points. Jaffray finished with 17 points. Also getting into double figures was Abby Radel with 13 points and Bean with 12. Kaylee Bagley also contributed six points, and Megan Jordan chipped in a basket for two points. The Eagles shot 7-10 from the free throw line. Evans led Old Town (8-2) with 18 points, as the Coyotes suffered only their second loss of the season both coming to Ellsworth. Loring finished with 16 points, Brown and Alexis Degrasse had six points each, and Karina Dumond along with Taylor Madden each added a basket for two points a piece. They shot 11-14 from the line. Both teams play next at home on Friday, as Ellsworth will host John Bapst and Old Town welcomes in MDI.
Recap by Chris Lessner
OTOWN (8-2) 18 13 9 10- 50
ELLSW (12-0) 13 19 21 16- 69
Three-pointers- Ellsworth: Boles 2, Bagley 2, Bean 2, Jaffray, Radel/Old Town: Brown 2, Loring
Ellsworth forward Grace Jaffray goes up for a rebound as Megan Jordan (10) and Elizabeth Boles (15) look on during the Class B State Championship game against Spruce Mountain last March at the Portland Expo. Boles and Jaffray sparked the Eagles to a regular season sweep of Old Town Wednesday night to improve to 12-0. Photo by Lisa Prescott
