FARMINGTON — Playing an aggressive defense, Mt. Blue held Spruce Mountain to just eight second-half points to take a 46-32 win on Tuesday night in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference girls’ basketball game.

Trailing 24-21 at halftime, Mt. Blue (3-4) turned a sloppy game in its favor, allowing just one basket in each of the last two periods as Spruce Mountain (2-6) struggled with its shooting and the Cougars quick paced style of play.

“We had better focus and intensity in the second half,” Mt. Blue coach Gavin Kane said. “We needed the win and the Heal points that come with it, to get into the tournament.”

As they have done all season, the Cougars are clinging to a playoff spot in the Class A North rankings by just six points, where six teams are battling for the final four tournament slots.

With the game on the line, the Phoenix connected on 1 of 12 from the field in the fourth quarter to finish the second half 2 of 17.

“We just didn’t adjust to the changes they made at halftime,” Spruce Mountain coach Chris Bessey said. “We did have some good looks but they just didn’t go in.”

Led by the exceptional ball handling and passing of point guard Eryn Doiron, the Cougars began causing trouble on the inside. Doiron managed a pair of assists on slick passes into the paint where Mackenzie Harris (10 points) took advantage of her strength and size to give Mt. Blue, a 25-24 lead on consecutive baskets.

“We had a little bit of a size advantage and Eryn pounded it inside,” Kane said. “She was a great leader on the floor and in the locker room, tonight.”

Doiron set the example on defense, making a steal and fast break pass to a streaking Caitlin Kane, who laid the ball in the basket for a 27-24 lead with 4:35 left in the third quarter.

Spruce Mountain rallied briefly to knot the score at 27-27 when Emily Hogan scored on an offensive rebound and putback and Grace Ryan connected on 1 of 2 free throws.

From there, however, it was all Mt. Blue, with Harris powering in her third basket of the quarter and Kane finishing it off with two straight driving lay-ups for a 33-28 advantage after three quarters.

The Mt. Blue lead ballooned to 39-29 when Kane netted a pair of free throws with 5:23 left in regulation. Kane would go on to convert 9 of 10 from the free throw line in the quarter to finish with a game-high 23 points.

Haley Turcotte topped the Phoenix scoring 10 points, all in the first half.