WATERVILLE — The Waterville girls had an effective plan against Camden Hills star Jordan Knowlton on Wednesday night. It was so effective that Knowlton missed seven of her eight shots in the first half and scored only four points.

But what Waterville couldn’t do was simultaneously shut down Knowlton inside and keep Taylor Porter from shooting outside. Porter hit three 3-pointers in the first half, and when Waterville adjusted to cover this, Knowlton scored 21 points in the second half and Camden Hills won 60-36 in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B girls basketball game.

“Taylor’s a great player,” Camden Hills coach Marty Messer said. “I think she’s underrated in the league, and she is one of the best shooters. When she started hitting, it opened some things up.”

Camden Hills (12-3) moved into third-place in Eastern B, where the top three teams earn a bye into the quarterfinals.

Waterville, which would have been in position for a home preliminary-round playoff game with a win, fell to 8-7. The Purple Panthers won four games all of last season.

The game was tied at 8 early in the first quarter, but Camden Hills opened a 22-10 lead by the end of the quarter, thanks to 10 points from Porter. Waterville scrapped its way back into the game and got as close as 24-20 on back-to-back foul-line jumpers by center Lauren Crane, who finished with eight points.

Porter immediately responded with an open 3-pointer from the right corner, and Camden Hills led 27-20 at the half.

Waterville never made a run in the second half, in part because Camden Hills had a 34-25 rebounding edge. Messer said the Windjammers have focused on rebounding lately after their starting center left the team.

Colleen O’Donnell scored 12 points for Waterville, and Ashleigh Gagne added nine. Crane, who led Waterville in scoring in the first half, was guarded by Knowlton after the break and didn’t take a shot.

“We couldn’t get the ball to her,” Waterville coach Rob Rodrigue said. “We kept trying to get it in to her, and we kept turning it over. They did a good job pressuring our guards and making it difficult for us to get it in there.”

Knowlton finished with 25 points and shot 7-of-9 shooting from the field in the second half. Sarah Steele added 10 rebounds for Camden Hills.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com