WINSLOW — Down 10 points after a quarter, and down 10 points again late in the third, the Waterville girls basketball team stayed composed. That helped the Purple Panthers rally to send the game into overtime, where they pulled away from rival Winslow for a 67-58 win.
Waterville (12-1) took the lead for good on a Jayda Murray layup with 2:32 left in overtime. Another Murray layup with 2:06 to play gave the Panthers a four-point cushion, and Waterville made just enough free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Winslow (8-5) built a 16-6 lead after a quarter, and despite numerous Waterville rallies, it looked for much of the game as if the Black Raiders would hold off the Panthers. Waterville cut the deficit to two points, 29-27, at the half, only to see the Black Raiders extend the lead back to 10, 49-39, on a Silver Clukey 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.
Down 51-42 in the fourth, Waterville used an 8-0 run to cut Winslow’s lead to 51-50 with 2:25 to play in regulation on a Maddie Martin free throw. Again, Clukey answered with a three, her sixth of the game, to give the Black Raiders a 54-50 lead.
With 31.4 seconds to play, Waterville’s Sadie Garling tied the game at 54-54, making a layup off her own steal. Fouled on the shot, Garling missed the free throw that would have given the Panthers the lead.
Winslow took a 57-56 lead early in overtime on a Bodhi Littlefield three-point play, and Grace Smith made a foul shot to give the Black Raiders a 58-56 lead with just under three minutes left in the extra quarter. Three consecutive Jayda Murray layups, two coming in transition, gave the Panthers the lead for good.
Murray finished with 19 points to lead Waterville. Msrtin added 13 points for the Panthers, while Garling scored 13.
Clukey led Winslow with a game-high 21 points. Littlefield scored 13 for the Black Raiders.
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