In the end, the Dunkirk Lady Marauders were one shot better.

Dunkirk defeated the Fredonia Lady ‘Billies, 43-41, after a last-second shot by Fredonia was no good in Friday’s CCAA Division 1 West girls basketball contest at Dunkirk High School. With the win, the Lady Marauders finished off a sweep of Fredonia on the regular season.

“After the first three of the year weren’t much fun, this one, for everybody, was fun. They had moments and we had ours, and that’s the way you hope it is,” said Dunkirk coach Ken Ricker.

Fredonia coach Mark Putney shared Ricker’s sentiment on the excitement of the game this time around.

OBSERVER Photo by Justin Goetz Dunkirk’s Nadara Odell (5) drives to the basket past Fredonia’s Nagely Vazquez during a basketball game at Dunkirk High School on Friday.

“After the first three that were blowouts, I think that was pretty exciting for everybody that came,” said Putney. “It came down to the wire, and give Dunkirk credit, they made one more bucket than we did. … It was two closely-matched teams that gave it their all.”

Dunkirk (10-6, 2-5) knew this game would be a tougher task than last time in Fredonia, without point guard Jessica Beehler this time around. Especially in the first half, the Lady Marauders played at a clearly slower pace than last time out against Fredonia (6-7, 1-6). While Dunkirk had 26 points in the first quarter last time, the game was tied 10-10 after the first quarter of play.

“Jessica being out, she’s a really strong player. She made a very big difference (in the last game),” said Dunkirk’s Kymi Nance. “We just had to believe that we can do it, with or without anyone we were missing. We’re a team and we have to play together regardless.”

Ricker said that without Beehler, the team would rely on Nance even more than usual. She responded with a team-high 14 points, but the biggest difference she made may have been as a leader.

“We all had different roles (Friday) and different things to do,” said Nance. She said that no matter what the circumstances were, Dunkirk needed to come out with the win regardless.

OBSERVER Photo by Justin Goetz Dunkirk’s Kymi Nance (left) drops back to defend Fredonia’s Kelly Gullo (13).

“(Nance) rallied them, she kept them together,” said Ricker. “Her and Nadara (Odell) and Amari (Carter) stuck together, and Olivia (Smith) hit some big shots.”

In the first matchup, Olivia Smith hit six 3-pointers, but on Friday, through three quarters, she had just one for a total of only three points.

She may have just been waiting until it mattered most.

Smith drilled three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter on Friday, after which Dunkirk led by six with under two minutes to go.

“I want her to shoot confidently every time, but there’s been this past where if we get down four points, the game is over,” said Ricker. “We’re trying to break that. It was great to see her come out and hit (those shots).”

But Fredonia wouldn’t stay down for long.

Down by six, Fredonia’s Kelly Gullo seemed right at home in the Dunkirk gym — the same gym that her father, Luke, coaches the Dunkirk boys in. The three-sport athlete, with big-game experience in both softball and soccer, proved that the moment wasn’t too big for her, answering Smith’s 3-pointers with back-to-back threes of her own to tie the game, 41-41, with 29 seconds left in the contest.

“I never lost faith in our girls, because I knew we were playing well,” said Putney. “I knew somebody was going to step up and hit some big shots and it happened to be Kelly. I was really proud of her for hitting those two shots.”

Despite the Dunkirk lead gone as quickly as it came, Nance wasn’t worried.

“My mind was the same place it was all game,” said Nance. “Regardless of those threes, we just had to keep on playing just as hard.”

With not much time left, it seemed like Dunkirk may have the final opportunity to score. As it turned out, both teams had a pair of opportunities in the final 29 seconds. Dunkirk capitalized on one of them, while Fredonia could not.

With the ball — the first time — under 30 seconds for Dunkirk, Nance drove into the lane and had two options — to pass to Odell or to Smith. She chose Odell and found her for an easy layup to give Dunkirk the two-point lead.

“Tie game, we drew up the play for Kymi where she’ll either have Olivia (Smith) in the corner or she’ll have Nadara (Odell) backside,” said Ricker. “She made a great play.”

Fredonia got the ball back with a chance to hold for the last shot, but the Lady ‘Billies turned the ball over with 10 seconds left to play. Dunkirk could close out the game by making a pair of free-throws, as Nance stepped to the line with only two seconds remaining, after Fredonia committed a pair of fouls.

But, in this game, it seemed only fitting that it wouldn’t come that easily.

Nance missed both free-throws, including the second one that missed the basket entirely, which gave Fredonia the ball back with a chance to tie or win the game.

“I was focused on getting my team together, rallying us all together and making sure we play good offense and good defense, with no mistakes made,” said Nance. “We were up by two, we just had to play it smart and finish the game.”

On the final defensive possession for Dunkirk with a two-point lead, Fredonia got the ball in the hands of Kazlin Beers, with just two seconds to go. Beers released a runner from just inside the 3-point line that went high off the backboard, no good.

“The play that we ran is designed so that anybody can get it. We look at what the defense gives us and we go from there,” said Putney. “I really had confidence that we were going to score on that play, but it ends up that we didn’t. … but I’m really proud of all of the girls for following the gameplan today.”

Putney said that Beers “kept (Fredonia) alive,” in the first half, where she had 13 of her game-high 15 points. Beers’ game was a polar opposite to that of Dunkirk’s Nance, who had just three points in the first half, but finished with 14. Anna Buchanan was second on Fredonia with nine points, along with four steals. Beers also had eight rebounds, tied with Ally Walton-Bald for the most from Fredonia. In addition to Nance’s 14 points, Smith added 12 and Odell had 11.

Just a year removed from losing all three matchups to Fredonia, and two years removed from only one win on a year while Fredonia went to the state final four, Dunkirk has flipped the script this year. The Lady Marauders, through all of the adversity the team has faced this season, walked out of their home gym Friday night after a sweep of Fredonia. That’s something this group of girls, their classmates and the Dunkirk community can be proud of.

“It means everything to me,” said Nance. “I told my team we can do anything as long as we believe we can.”

Twitter: @bradencarmen