WALES — Despite their youthfulness, the intent was to act like they’ve been there before.

The Poland girls’ basketball went in to Wednesday’s Western B preliminary hoping the magnitude of the game wouldn’t magnify the nerves.

“That was the message before the game,” Poland coach Mike Susi said. “The word I wrote on the white board was ‘Relax.’ It was just another game. You have to treat it like that. We can’t make it any bigger even though it was. It’s school history. We really wanted to come out and be calm and not over-think it.”

Despite a nip-and-tuck game, the Knights seized control of the lead early in the fourth and calmly secured a 41-36 win over Oak Hill. It was the first prelim win ever for the Knights and Poland advances to the Western B quarterfinals for the first time in the program’s history.

Tenth-seeded Poland (10-9) had lost five of its last six games in the regular season, including a pair to second-ranked Gray-New Gloucester, which the team faces in next Tuesday’s quarterfinals at the Portland Expo.

“It feels amazing,” freshman guard Nathalie Theriault said. “This group of girls I’m with make it amazing. I wouldn’t want to be there with any other team.”

Poland featured three freshmen playing prominent roles. Theriault led the team with 16 points while fellow freshman Maddie New had 13. Though the Knights were playing for something significant, they played with great poise for much of the game.

“Coach kept telling me that I had to keep everyone calm,” Theriault said. “I had to settle the whole team. I knew I had to stay relaxed. That’s what helped us win the game.”

On the other hand, Oak Hill appeared tight and tentative. The seventh-seeded Raiders were plagued by nearly 30 turnovers and never had a lead greater than five.

“We knew coming in that they would apply pressure,” said Oak Hill coach Charlie Castonguay, whose team lost six of its last eight games this season. “We thought we were ready for it. That was the difference in the game.”

Senior Michaella Arsenault added 10 points for the Knights while Oak Hill (12-7) got nine from Grace Sabine and six each from Sadie Goulet, Sara Noel and Brianna Mulherin.

“We had little spurts,” Castonguay said. “That’s pretty much been the story of the year. We weren’t able to have a really nice run.”

Oak Hill missed its first four shots of the final quarter and had seven turnovers. Many were critical ones in the final minutes as the Raiders tried to rally from behind. Oak Hill finished 2-for-9 in the quarter while the Knights hit three of its first four shots to open a lead.

“Maddie New hit a 3 to start the fourth quarter and that was huge,” Susi said. “She really sparked us. Every game this year we’ve had somebody different. Once we got the lead, the tenseness of the fourth quarter kind of evaporated.”

The game had  been tied late in the third when Theriault scored on a drive. A Noel 3 gave the Raiders a 30-27 lead before an Arsenault steal pulled the Knights within a point after three.

After New hit the 3 to start the fourth, Arsenault sank a free throw to make it 33-30. The Raiders got a pair from the line by Sabine to make it 33-32 with 6:38 left but that would be as close as Oak Hill would come. Arsenault drilled a 3 and Theriault scored on a drive to make it 38-32 with 4:13 left.

“They hit a couple 3’s,” Castonguay said. “The effort was outstanding by both teams. The difference is that they hit some key shots, and we weren’t able to. We had our opportunities.”

Oak Hill got a Mulherin basket on a pass from Sabine with 3:32 to make it 38-34. After a Theriault free throw, Goulet scored on a rebound to cut the deficit to 39-36 with 1:33 left. The Raiders turned the ball over numerous times to spoil any hopes of completing the comeback. Arsensault sealed it with two with two free throws.

“We knew at the end that we had to be strong with the ball,” Theriault said. “If we weren’t strong with the ball, we weren’t going to win. We stayed strong with the ball and we finished it.”

Poland started the game well and had a 12-8 lead after the first quarter. Both teams had lost prelims last year, and Susi emphasized the need for a good start.

“We play with a lot more confidence if we’re making our first few shots,” Susi said. “All of a sudden, our defense starts to improve and our effort and our focus is there. We threw the ball away  in the first half, but we weren’t rattled.”

Both teams had plenty of turnovers but two 3’s by Theriault and eight points overall staked the Knights to the early lead.

“I don’t usually shoot 3’s, but they were there and I hit them,” Theriault said.

The  Raiders battled back in the second and used a 7-0 run to build a 22-17 lead. Danielle Samson hit a 3 while Sabine and Mulherin scored during that stretch. Poland answered with a 3 and a steal for a basket by New to tie it 22-22.

Oak Hill broke a pair of ties in the third and was up by as many as three on Noel’s 3 before Arsenault’s steal cut it to one and set the stage for the fourth.

“That’s a testament to our senior leaders on the floor and on the bench,” Susi said of his team’s poise in the fourth. “They calmed people down. I think that’s  a testament to the team in general and how everybody trusts each other.”

kmills@sunjournal.com