WINDHAM — Windham gave itself the perfect present heading into Christmas break Friday night, recovering from an early deficit to defeat Edward Little, the defending Class AA girls’ basketball champion, 54-40.

The Red Eddies (3-2) scored the first 12 points but Windham (5-0) kept its compsure and led the entire second half.

“We went into this game and we really wanted to win,” said Meghan Hoffses of the Eagles. “(Coming out with a) 5-0 (record) is a real confidence booster for us going into the break.”

Hoffses, who finished with a game-high 15 points to go with three rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot, contributed in numerous ways, particularly in the second quarter when the Eagles used a 19-11 advantage to take a 30-27 halftime lead.

First her steal at the foul line led to a fast-break layup attempt that resulted in two free throws to make it 25-19 – part of a 10-0 run that made it 25-25.

She punctuated the quarter when she stole an entry pass under her own basket, crossed midcourt and hoisted a shot at the buzzer that went in to put Windham ahead to stay.

“Meghan is a special player because there really are not many players out there like her,” said Windham Coach Brody Artes. “She’s so quick and gutsy. She really is our engine. And when she’s running at full tilt, we are playing well. She’s been like that for four years. She’s a fantastic leader.”

Windham scored the first six points of the second half to make it 36-27: Tara Flanders had an offensive rebound put-back, Kayla Gorman converted a two-on-one fast-break layup off a pass from Hoffses, and Hannah Talon scored on a runner in the lane.

Edward Little twice whittled the lead to four points, the last at 38-34 on Chantel Ouellette’s runner in the lane with 1:20 left in the third. But Hoffses nailed a 10-foot jumper and assisted on Talon’s layup to give Windham a 42-34 lead heading to the fourth.

“We had momentum (in the second quarter), but to add to it in the style like Meghan did (on the 3-pointer), that was definitely something we brought into the locker room,” Artes said. “But it was important for us to continue to progress and make sure we continued to put pressure on them.”

The inside play of Flanders (12 points, seven rebounds) helped complement the outside scoring and drives to the basket by Hoffses and Talon (12 points, five rebounds).

“We talk all week how (Windham) is one of the most improved teams and one of the best teams with lot of pieces returning, and tough to defend. And they showed that,” Eddies Coach Chris Cifelli said. “They have a nice inside-out game. I thought we did a nice job on (Hannah) Talon in the first half but they had other people step up.

“With wins over Portland and us, they aren’t going to sneak up on anyone now. Maybe the spotlight is on Windham a little bit now.”

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