ISLESBORO – In the end, it may not have mattered that Islesboro has only six players on its girls basketball team, including an eighth-grader.

What mattered in Wednesday night’s matchup at the school gym here was Searsport’s size and rebounding ability. With four girls 5-foot-9 or taller, the Vikings controlled the inside while the Eagles struggled in their shooting from the outside.

Searsport got up early, fended off an Islesboro surge, and poured on the offense in the second half to earn a 68-37 victory.

The Class C Vikings are now 11-3 while Class D Islesboro, coming off its first two wins of the season last weekend at Gould Academy, is now 2-9.

Searsport junior Andrea Blanchard poured in 21 points while sophomore Jessica Larrabee finished with 15 points and 18 rebounds, the most of any Viking so far this season.

“Defense and rebounds is the key to winning games and the offense will come from that,” Blanchard said. “We went into the game looking for rebounds and defense rather than the offense and just let that come in the flow.”

The Vikings had an up-and-down first half but they did have a 34-23 halftime lead. Blanchard hit a quick 3-pointer to open the third quarter, but Islesboro’s Annie Bolduc hit four straight free throws and 5-8 Kacee Johnson scored off a rebound to cut Searsport’s lead to eight points almost two minutes into the second half.

Searsport coach Herman Paul called a timeout four seconds after Johnson’s basket. The Vikes took off from there, scoring 15 unanswered points until Johnson made a basket with 27.8 seconds left to stop the run.

“Coach gave us some intensity,” Larrabee said. “We went out there flat, not hustling, and we just knew that we had to step it up. We knew that we were way better than that. We needed to be more aggressive.”

Searsport had a 16-3 scoring edge in the fourth quarter, including six points from Brittany Smith.

Jessica Plourde added 15 rebounds for Searsport (third-best this season). Pauline Vasiliauskas, the Vikings’ tallest player at 6 feet, chipped in with 10 rebounds and three blocks.

Bolduc, a senior guard, led the Eagles with 20 points and helped keep them in the game in the third quarter with a 7-for-7 effort from the free-throw line. She also grabbed eight rebounds. Johnson added nine points and 10 rebounds.

With only one player on their bench, the Eagles did slow down in the fourth quarter. Coach Vicki Conover’s squad came out in a man-to-man defense, but switched at times to a 1-2-2 zone for a breather.

“Fourth quarter we just lost our legs,” she said. “You can see it when you watch them shoot and their shots start banging off the front of the rim.”

The Vikings played their usual 2-3 zone, which worked especially well because the Eagles had trouble hitting their long-range shots.

“If someone’s going to beat us, they’re going to have to beat our 2-3 zone,” Paul said. “With three people on the bottom, you have to shoot outside shots. If you’re not making them, it’s going to be a tough time. It’s tough to shoot over a good 2-3.”

Vikings 68, Eagles 37

Searsport (11-3) Islesboro (2-9)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Smith 3 12 2 2 8 Hauprich 0 7 0

Hancock 0 3 0 0 0 Delaney 2 19 0 4

Larrabee 7 14 1 2 15 Kerr 1 9 2

Seekins 1 3 0 2 2 Bolduc 6 21 8 20

Herrick 1 4 0 0 2 Pisciotta 1 5 2

Plourde 3 7 1 2 7 Johnson 4 11 1 9

Blanchard 9 21 0 0 21

Carroll 2 5 1 2 5

Vasiliauskas 4 8 0 0 8

Totals 30 77 5 10 68 Totals 14 72 9 11 37

Searsport 15 34 52 68 XX

Islesboro 8 23 34 37 XX

3-pt. goals: Searsport (3-6): Blanchard 3-5, Smith 0-1; Islesboro (0-1): Bolduc 0-1

Attendance: 150 (est.)