BANGOR – With the Eastern Maine Class A girls basketball tournament just days away, the Nokomis of Newport girls issued Presque Isle a challenge in the form of a 53-50 victory in the Big East Conference championship Tuesday at the Bangor Auditorium.

The Warriors will go into the tournament as the No. 5 seed, while the Wildcats are ranked fourth. The teams, which split two games in the regular season, will face each other Friday at 3:10 p.m. at the Auditorium.

“We knew what we’re up against,” first-year Presque Isle coach Jeff Hudson said. “We have to step it up a notch…[Nokomis is] physical, they have an inside game and an outside game. They’re as tough as anybody when they’re on.”

Nokomis utilized both its inside and outside games Tuesday.

Michelle Murray connected on a jump shot from just inside the 3-point arc with 48.2 seconds left to give Nokomis the lead for good and Liz Mendell and Laura Pelkey each hit two free throws in the final 20 seconds to hold off Presque Isle.

The Wildcats didn’t get a lead in the game until there was 4:14 left in the game, when Presque Isle star Bri Blanchard stole the ball, drove the length of the court to score, drew a foul and hit the ensuing free throw for a 43-42 edge.

Pelkey regained the lead for Nokomis with a 3-pointer from the left wing but Blanchard answered with a 3-point shot of her own for a 48-47 edge. Murray’s jumper put the game out of reach.

While the late long-range baskets electrified the crowd, the Warriors won the game inside with 5-foot-11 freshman forward Danielle Clark and 6-foot senior forward Tonya Cray. Cray had 15 points and seven rebounds, while Clark scored 10 points and grabbed six boards.

“When we played Presque Isle in the regular season we really knew that if we wanted to win the game we had to go inside and that’s how we won this game,” Cray said.

Blanchard scored 11 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter and played her usual well-rounded game, with seven rebounds and six steals.

Mendell added 11 points and a tough defensive presence for Nokomis. Sam Shaw finished with eight points for Presque Isle.

Warriors 53, Wildcats 50

Nokomis girls Presque Isle

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Welch 2 4 2 2 7 Watananchit 0 0 0 0 0

Mendell 3 6 4 4 11 Ireland 2 2 0 0 4

Pelkey 1 7 2 2 5 Tilley 1 1 0 0 2

Palmer 0 0 0 0 0 Shaw 4 7 0 0 8

MacKenzie 0 1 0 0 0 Hamel 0 1 0 0 0

Cray 7 14 1 2 15 Bi.Blanchard 2 7 0 0 4

Murray 2 3 0 1 5 Sirois 0 0 0 0 0

Raymond 0 0 0 0 0 Tuttle 2 3 1 2 5

Clark 4 9 2 4 10 Norsworthy 0 0 0 0 0

Br.Blanchard 9 22 5 8 27

Totals 19 42 11 15 53 Totals 20 43 6 10 50

Nokomis 6 24 41 53

Presque Isle 5 17 32 50

3-pt. goals: Nokomis (4-9): Welch 1-2, Mendell 1-2, Pelkey 1-2, Murray 1-2, MacKenzie 0-1; Presque Isle (4-11): Br. Blanchard 4-10, Bi. Blanchard 0-1