NEWPORT — It seemed like a simple request from Winslow girls basketball coach Lindsey Welch. But with Winslow and Nokomis involved, it wasn’t.

“I told the girls (Monday) night in practice,” Welch said. “I said, ‘Just do me one thing: I want you to have fun, enjoy the moment, and not let it get to overtime.”

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Winslow and Nokomis had split two regular season games that went a combined three overtimes. When they met in the Eastern B preliminary round Tuesday night, the 10th-seeded Black Raiders clamped down on defense long enough for a 34-29 victory over No. 7 Nokomis.

“I think it just came down to heart,” said Winslow’s Ciara LeClair, whose 10 points included five free throws down the stretch. “Same thing every game — you (got to) fight for what you want.”

Winslow plays No. 2 Presque Isle on Friday in Bangor. Nokomis, which has only one senior, finishes 11-8.

“The three sophomores and the freshmen who were out on the floor have never been in this atmosphere,” Nokomis coach Michelle Paradis said. “They don’t want to be the person to lose the basketball game, and that will come with experience. We have to shoot the ball.”

The teams were almost dead-even in the first half. Winslow led 12-7 in the second quarter after a 3-pointer by Alyssa Wood, but Nokomis rallied back on two jumpers by Sidney Moore and another by Austin Taylor to lead 13-12.

In the final seconds, Taylor drove straight to the basket for a layup, giving Nokomis a 15-14 lead at the half. That one basket may have stuck in Welch’s mind, because at the half she opted to switch to a zone defense — something Winslow has used sparingly this winter.

“We could not stop their dribble penetration, and Mikayla Charters is one of the best players in the state,” Welch said. “We had a hard time defending her, and it was a concern of mine.

“We had our zone defense, just in case, if we needed to get to it. We needed that spark. At halftime, we had a heart-to-heart, and they bought in.”

With Heather Kervin (11 points, seven rebounds) starting to control the inside, the Raiders went up 23-17 midway through the third quarter. Nokomis mainly settled for outside shots, and in fact had zero free throw attempts over the final three quarters.

“We don’t like a lot of contact — and that also comes with experience,” Paradis said.

When Nokomis finally did knock down an outside shot — a three by Chelsea Crockett — Wood responded with her own three. Winslow led 26-20 after three quarters, and it was 30-20 with 2:48 to go in the fourth. Moore hit two 3-pointers, but after missing three straight foul shots, LeClair made five in a row to put the game out of reach.

Winslow has four seniors who get to extend their high school basketball careers. Charters is the only senior for Nokomis, and everyone else who played for the Warriors Tuesday is a freshman or a sophomore.

“Last year, when I lost 50 percent of my team, people wrote us off, and said that we were going to be lucky to get an eighth-place finish,” Paradis said. “We came in seventh. So I am so happy with them. We did so well coming together as a team.”

“We just stuck together as a team, really,” Charters said. “When things went bad, we just stated together as a team and didn’t get down on ourselves. A lot of people did doubt us, so I’m proud of the team for making it this far.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Matt_DiFilippo