BAR HARBOR – There were times Friday night when the MDI girls basketball team showed its inexperience. And there were times when the Trojans’ most inexperienced players showed a lot of maturity in their matchup against rival Ellsworth.

Megan Phelps, a 5-foot-10 freshman, had a big stretch in the fourth quarter while senior Molly Vaux, a first-year point guard, showed her mettle as time expired.

Phelps and Vaux helped the Trojans withstand a furious Eagles rally, holding on for a 45-43 victory at Bernard Parady Gymnasium.

“We made some turnovers on offense, but we never gave up at the end,” Vaux said.

MDI coach Brent Barker saw his team’s 10-point lead almost disappear in about one minute but said the Trojans will use it as a learning experience.

“This year is going to be a huge learning curve because a lot of these kids haven’t been in this situation yet,” he said. “… This should help us improve later. We got into this situation we shouldn’t have been in, and we won.”

Phelps led all scorers with 17 points, including seven during a 32-second run in the fourth quarter during which she was open for a 3-pointer off a Vaux pass. The 3-pointer, which came between four free throws, made it a five-point game.

“Coming down the floor really quick, everyone was discombobulated; it’s really easy when you have a point guard like Molly, who looks at the floor, to be open for those shots,” Phelps said.

On MDI’s next possession Phelps got into the middle and dished to Mackenzie Curtis for a basket and a 39-30 lead with 3:17 left.

Two minutes later the Trojans took a 44-34 lead after Vaux stole the ball and hit a fast-break layup. But Ellsworth’s Catherine Carter hit a jump shot to spark a 9-1 run that culminated in a Paige Saunders basket with three seconds left, whittling MDI’s lead to two points.

The Trojans had the ball back under Ellsworth’s basket, but after Eagles coach Robert Deetjen called a timeout, Phelps had trouble inbounding the ball. The Trojans were saved from a turnover when Barker called a timeout. Phelps found Vaux the second time around, and Vaux held the ball as time expired.

“We have a lot of inexperience, so it’s hard to be in these high-pressure situations,” Phelps said. “In the end, we knew we had to get the ball in. Molly had a nice cut to get open.”

MDI led 18-12 at halftime.

Emily Lyons, who had a 3-pointer during Ellsworth’s rally, finished with 10 points. She also drained a 3-pointer in the third quarter to put the Eagles up 19-18 for their only lead of the game. Phelps scored on the next possession to take back control for MDI.

Saunders, whose offensive-rebound putback tied it at 30-30 with 5:36 left in the fourth, poured in 16 points on 8-for-15 shooting. She went 0-for-6 from the free-throw line, however, and the Eagles were 4-for-18 as a team. The Trojans were just 13 of 22, but they went 8-for-10 in the fourth quarter.

“[Phelps] made some big shots and they made their free throws when they needed to,” Deetjen said.

Ellsworth forced 30 MDI turnovers, including nine in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles also committed 21 against MDI’s mostly man-to-man defense, with a zone press at times.

Deetjen said the Eagles, now 0-5, have looked better each time out.

“They’re improving more and more every game,” said the first-year head coach. “That’s all you can ask for.”

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

990-8193

TROJANS 45, EAGLES 43

Ellsworth (0-5) MDI (2-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Cooper 1 3 0 4 2 Parady 2 4 6

Carter 3 5 0 0 6 Carroll 1 6 5

Wyman 0 2 0 2 0 Joy 0 0 0

Jellison 1 4 2 4 4 Thrmann 0 0 0

Tupper 0 0 0 0 0 Hutchins 1 2

Saunders 8 15 0 6 16 Vaux 1 2 2

Richter 0 3 2 2 2 Curtis 2 7 8

Manning 1 5 0 0 3 Swanson 2 5 5

Lyons 4 7 0 0 10 Gray 0 0 0

Tucker 0 2 0 0 0 Pratt 0 0 0

Swett 0 0 0 0 0 Phelps 5 10 17

Minctons 0 0 0

Totals 18 46 4 18 43 Totals 14 37 13 22 45

Ellsworth 8 12 23 43

MDI 13 18 28 45

3-pt. goals – Ellsworth (3-6): Lyons 2-3, Manning 1-1, Richter 0-1, Carter 0-1; MDI (4-7): Phelps 3-5, Carroll 1-1, Hutchins 0-1

JV: Ellsworth 42-37

Attendance: 400 (est.)