Allie Bivins didn’t score the most points for her Ellsworth team on Friday night, but she made the game-saving play that sealed the win for the Eagles.
With her team up by one point and less than 10 seconds left in the game, Bivins made the ultimate selfless play on defense.
The No. 2 Old Town Coyotes had the ball and a chance to take the lead over the No. 7 Eagles in Friday night’s Class B North matchup. Old Town inbounded the ball and appeared to be executing a well-designed play to get to the hoop.
But that’s when Bivins got in the way. Literally.
The junior forward put herself in the line of fire, took a charge, and got bowled over in the process. She paid a price, needing to leave the game after clearly getting shaken up. But the gutsy play got Ellsworth back at a critical moment, and helped them pull off the biggest upset of the tournament so far.
Ellsworth coach Andy Pooler was effusive in his praise of Bivins after the victory.
“She’s that type of player,” Pooler said, noting that Bivins is willing to put her body on the line for her team.
“That was unbelievable,” he said about the pivotal charge she took.
In a string of clutch plays for Ellsworth in Friday’s fourth quarter, Bivins’ defensive effort stands out because of the sacrifice she had to make. For that, she earns the nod for the Bangor Daily News’ top tourney performance from Friday.