It was halftime of Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class A girls basketball final. Nokomis of Newport was in its locker room. And Warriors star Danielle Clark had picked up her third foul with 0.2 seconds left in the second quarter.

Instead of sitting his senior forward, Nokomis coach Earl Anderson made her play.

“The key was how smart she played with three fouls,” he said Saturday. “… She had a great first half. I said, you can play with three fouls. You’re smart, you’re experienced. And you’re gonna get it done.”

Clark eventually picked up her fourth foul. But she maintained her poise, made a few big plays in the final minute, and led Nokomis of Newport to its second Eastern Maine title.

The senior forward racked up a tourney-high 54 points, scoring 18 in each of Nokomis’ Eastern Maine Class A tournament games, and was voted the Bangor Daily News’ Owen Osborne Most Valuable Player award.

It’s the second time Clark has won the MVP award. She first earned that honor her sophomore year after leading the Warriors to Eastern Maine and state titles.

Nokomis teammate Michelle Murray, Cony of Augusta seniors Karen Sirois and Ashley Underwood, and Skowhegan senior Ashley Hilton join Clark on the all-tournament team.

The MVP award was established in 1994 in memory of Osborne, a former NEWS sports editor and reporter. The winner and the all-tourney team are selected by a vote of media, tournament personnel and representatives of the Maine Principals’ Association.

Clark is making her third all-tourney appearance. She was named to last year’s team when the Warriors were the Eastern Maine runners-up to Cony.

In her senior tournament, the New Hampshire-bound Clark upped her rebounding from previous seasons, averaging 11 per game, and was 14-for-17 from the free-throw line in three games.

Murray was named an honorable mention last year. She averaged 8.6 points in three tourney games and made some huge plays in the Warriors’ title drive. The 5-8 guard hit a 3-pointer with 29.3 seconds left in a 41-40 semifinal win over Skowhegan and made two jump shots in the fourth quarter of the 44-41 EM final victory.

Sirois is making her first all-tourney appearance, although she was an honorable mention in 2001. She had a stellar quarterfinal, with 22 points, six rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Sirois also hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter. The 5-6 guard, who is headed to UMaine-Farmington, averaged 17.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Underwood, who will play for the University of Maine next year, averaged 14 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Rams. She had a combined 37 points in Cony’s first two tournament games.

Hilton was also named to her first all-tourney team. The 5-11 forward scored 17 points in each of the Indians’ two games and was a combined 16-for-23 from the floor.

Class A All-Tourney Team

Pos. Name School Yr. Ht. PPG RPG

F Danielle Clark** Nokomis Sr. 6-1 18.0 11.0

G Michelle Murray Nokomis Sr. 5-8 8.6 0.6

G Karen Sirois Cony Sr. 5-6 17.3 4.3

G AshleyUnderwood Cony Sr. 5-9 14.0 5.6

F Ashley Hilton Skowhegan Sr. 5-11 17.0 8.5

Honorable Mention: Katie Rollins (Cony), Lindsey Welch (Nokomis), Emmy Russell (Hampden), Erin Johnson (Mount Ararat)

**Owen Osborne MVP