BANGOR — With her team’s Class B North quarterfinal victory complete, Winslow High School girls basketball coach Brenda Beckwith thought of the ebbs and flows of the game.

“That’s why tournaments are so cool. You can prepare for everything, but you’ve got to come out and coach that moment,” she said.

Winslow’s Grace Smith takes a shot over the out-stretched arms of Old Town defender Sydney Loring during a Class B North quarterfinal game Saturday afternoon in Bangor. Photo by Jenifer Bechard

Beckwith referred to her team’s ability to hold off Old Town’s third quarter rally. When the Coyotes cut Winslow’s 10-point lead to one, the game plan had to be set aside for damage control — at least for a moment.

The defending Class B state champion Black Raiders withstood Old Town’s run, escaping the Cross Insurance Center with a 36-29 victory.

No. 5 Winslow (13-6) will face either No. 1 Mt. Desert Island or No. 9 Maine Central Institute in the semifinals Wednesday at 8:35 p.m. No. 4 Old Town finished 14-5.

Silver Clukey’s basket with 5:17 left in the third quarter gave Winslow a 24-14 lead. Maddy Emerson’s 3-pointer with 4:28 left sparked a 9-0 run by Old Town, cutting the Black Raiders lead to 24-23 with 2:09 to play in the third.

“We had to get back back our intensity on both the offensive end and defensive end,” Clukey said.

Beckwith expected the Coyotes to storm back.

Winslow’s Silver Clukey, left, scrambles for a loose ball as Old Town’s Syndey Loring defends during a Class B North quarterfinal game Saturday afternoon in Bangor. Photo by Jennifer Bechard

“Every good team does. We’ve talked about that all year, in both situations. Where, ‘hey, we’re down 10, we need to do this.’ Or we’re up 10. They just came out and hit a couple of 3’s and just changed momentum,” Beckwith said.

While Winslow never relinquished the lead, it never pulled comfortably ahead, either. With a minute to play in the game, the Black Raiders led by three, 32-29. A pair of Old Town turnovers in the final minute helped squash any chance of a Coyote comeback. Weslee Littlefield and Clukey each made a pair of foul shots to seal the victory.

Winslow forced 17 Old Town turnovers, while committing just nine. Old Town was just 2 for 19 from the field in the fourth quarter, unable to capitalize on numerous second chance shots. Although the Black Raiders made their foul shots in the final minute, they struggled from the line most of the game, making just 8 of 16. After the game, Beckwith made jokes about it, but her point was serious.

“I’m going to have a layup clinic and a free throw clinic. They gave us a gift, and we just decided not to open that gift. It’s not because they’re not trying or whatever. If we don’t do that, it’s going to come back and bite us,” Beckwith said.

Clukey led the Black Raiders with 15 points. Weslee Littlefield added eight points, and Maeghan Bernard grabbed 11 boards.

Emerson led Old Town with 10 points. Hannah Richards added nine points for the Coyotes, while Lexi Thibodeau had 11 rebounds.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM

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