BANGOR – John Bapst girls basketball coach Mike Webb admitted he didn’t hold out much hope for his Crusaders with three minutes left in Friday afternoon’s Eastern Maine Class B quarterfinal at the Bangor Auditorium.

His best player had just fouled out of the game, seventh-seeded Presque Isle had taken its largest lead of the game, and his Crusaders had committed eight fouls to PI’s four, putting the Wildcats in the bonus.

Turns out, his best player – at least for this game – was still in the game.

Eve Jordan, who was shooting 1-for-10, canned back-to-back 3-pointers – the second one a game-tying shot from the right wing with a defender in her face – in a 30-second span to lead an 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter and the game-winning shot in overtime for an improbable 40-38 win.

“That’s kind of my sweet spot, I guess you could say,” Jordan said matter-of-factly. “That first one, I let it go and once it went in I knew for the rest of the game whenever I got the ball there, I could do it.”

She did it all right. The junior guard would go on to hit four of six free throws and score six points in overtime to finish with 14 and lead Bapst of Bangor into the semifinals.

“Eve’s been that way since her freshman year, and when she’s feeling it, there are nights she takes it over,” Webb said.

Jordan also had four assists and three steals (both game highs) and two rebounds.

The 17-2 Crusaders will take on No. 6 Mount Desert Island in a 2:05 p.m. Wednesday semifinal. The Wildcats, who split the regular-season series with Bapst, finished 12-8.

Jordan wasn’t the only heroine for the Crusaders, but she was the heroine. If there was any doubt about that, it was erased by her 14-footer from the right wing as the last seconds ticked away in overtime.

“She made three huge plays: those shots and that one play at the end of the game,” said PI coach Jeff Hudson. “Up until that point, it was almost like neither team wanted to win.”

Jordan’s finish with a flourish obscured several other MVP efforts on both teams. Teammate Lauren Nichols scored a game-high 16 points – 11 after the first half – and grabbed six rebounds. She also gave Bapst a 34-33 lead via a three-point play 1:55 into overtime. It was Bapst’s first lead since 2-0 1:04 into the game.

“We tried to trap and press and they both worked pretty well,” said Nichols, who Webb calls his best defensive player. “It helped us get into transition more often.”

Nichols was invaluable, especially after top scorer and rebounder Hillary Laferriere fouled out with 3:11 left in regulation.

The ‘Cats had a chance to win in regulation as Amy Michaud was fouled with 0.7 seconds left, but the junior guard missed both free throws. Michaud had a standout game with nine points, four rebounds, and two steals off the bench.

Angela Norsworthy and Sarah Porter led PI with 11 points and seven rebounds apiece.

CRUSADERS 40, WILDCATS 38 (OT)

Presque Isle (12-8) John Bapst (17-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Michaud 4 8 1 3 9 Jordan 4 14 14

Porter 5 12 0 0 11 Nichols 7 11 16

Clukey 0 3 0 1 0 Andrle 0 2 0

Glovins 2 8 0 0 6 Maquillan 0 0

Legassie 0 3 1 2 1 McGuan 1 8 2

Wtnanchit 0 2 0 0 0 Vanchieri 1 2

Norswrthy 2 9 7 8 11 Laferriere 3 6

Dean 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 13 45 9 14 38 Totals 16 43 15 40

Presque Isle 11 17 23 31 38

John Bapst 7 13 19 31 40

3-pt. goals – Presque Isle (3-15): Glovins 2-8, Porter 1-6, Clukey 0-1; John Bapst (2-5): Jordan 2-3, McGuan 0-2