Ninth-ranked (Class 4A) Eastview defeated second-ranked Bloomington Kennedy 61-59 Friday night in a game that, like the last time the two conference rivals played, once again came down to the last possession.

Kennedy junior guard Jade Martin missed a potential game-tying two-point shot at the buzzer after sophomore guard Kenisha Bell had cut Eastview’s 4-point lead down to two with five seconds left.

Bell had missed a free throw but the Eagles got the ball back after the ball touched an Eastview player and rolled out of bounds. But Eastview’s defense held tight.

“This is how our game went the first time [we played Kennedy],” Eastview senior guard Paige Palkovich said. “It helped that we went through that the first game.”

The Lightning avenged its only South Suburban Conference defeat -- a 54-51 loss att Kennedy in December that also came down to the final possession. Eastview (9-1) and Kennedy (9-1) are now tied at the top of the South Suburban Conference.

“It was anybody’s game,” Kennedy head coach Percy Wade said. “We had a chance to tie and go into overtime; hats off to their players.”

The Eagles led for most of the first half, moving the ball in transition and winning the battle inside the paint. Eastview kept the game tight, however, never trailing by more than six points.

Eastview took its first lead with a three-pointer by Amber Mehr, which put the Lightning up 26-25. Kennedy closed out the first half with a spectacular right-handed layup by Bell, and led 29-28 at the break.

Turnovers plagued Kennedy in the beginning of the second half. Eastview made a 10-1 run, leading by as much as eight at one point.

Kennedy fought back, led by Martin’s team- high 21 points, to take a 40-38 lead, in what was a back-and-forth final eight minutes.

Eastview’s leading scorer freshman, Madison Guebert, scored 13 of her game-high 25 points in the final 7:30.

“I’m so proud of these girls,” Eastview head coach Melissa Guebert said. “It’s a nice win for us, but we know we have two big games next week. They all know we have lot of the season left. ” 

Calvin Swanson is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.