For most of the night Thursday, Maple Grove was one of those teams.

But either the Marauders tired themselves out or the Red Dragons figured it out just in time because Madison Price’s free throw with 24.6 seconds remaining gave Maple Grove the lead for good in a 68-65 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 West victory on Dutch Hollow Road.

Senior Bre Hill led a trio of double-digit scorers for the Red Dragons with 25 points to go along with 15 rebounds, five steals, three assists and three blocked shots. Sophomore Sam Snow added 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals while senior Riley Caskey chipped in 17 points, five rebounds and three steals for Maple Grove, which improved to 2-3 overall and evened its league record at 1-1.

“I was proud of our seniors for stepping up,” Maple Grove coach Bill Price said. “We just have to play with more confidence.”

Dunkirk's Kymi Nance shoots a contested shot during Thursday's game in Bemus Point. Photo by Matt Spielman.

Senior Nadara Odell led Dunkirk (4-1, 1-1) with 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds while senior Olivia Smith had 18 points, all on 3-pointers. Senior point guard Jessica Beehler chipped in 11 points, 14 assists and seven steals.

“They got us playing their style. They have a lot of threats on the outside,” Price said of the Marauders. “They spread you out because they have so many good shooters.”

Maple Grove led 17-11 after a frantic first quarter that saw the teams combine for 47 field goal attempts, but the Red Dragons benefited from the Marauders going just 1 of 15 from 3-point range over the opening eight minutes.

“We believe in what we do. We were down two shots, that’s what we consider six points. We figured, if we shoot average, we’ll be up two shots,” Ricker said. “You want to make shots, obviously, but we have to be good when we don’t make shots.”

Dunkirk began to find its way in the second quarter, taking its first lead since 2-0 with 5:54 remaining on one of Smith’s three 3-pointers in the quarter.

“We’d like to have three or four girls making a bunch of 3s,” Ricker said, “but Olivia is elite at it.”

The Marauders’ biggest lead of the game came on their first possession of the second half when Smith hit her fourth 3-pointer to make it 42-29, but Maple Grove began to chip away from there.

“They did a good job of taking Olivia away,” Ricker said of Smith, who didn’t score in the fourth quarter. “We’ve talked to her for a long time, she needs to be able to do more than just one elite skill. They took her away and made it difficult.”

Riley Caskey was fouled on a 3-pointer with 6:14 remaining and made all three free throws to make it an eight-point game and Hill made five of the Red Dragons’ next seven baskets to help them keep it an eight-point game heading into the final eight minutes.

“They got Bre to put the ball on the floor,” Ricker said. “You think of her as a forward, but she has elite skills. … She made a big run, put her head down and got to the rim.”

Snow and Caskey then pieced together an 8-2 run, capped by Caskey’s left-handed transition layup with an even five minutes remaining to make it 62-58 in favor of the Marauders. Snow eventually tied the game at 65-all with 1:49 remaining when she drained her fourth 3-pointer of the game and following three empty Dunkirk possessions, Price gave her team the lead with a free throw.

“We have some shooters. The Snow girl likes to play away from the basket,” Price said. “Riley is a gutsy player. She hits shots when she needs to.”

Caskey then added another transition layup with 7.3 seconds remaining to make it a three-point game and the Red Dragons hung on when Snow blocked a corner 3-point attempt in the dying seconds.

“We’re going to turn people over, but the real goal is just to make the game as fast as possible. The pace was where we wanted it,” Ricker said. “We scored seven in the fourth quarter … that’s not going to get it done.”

NOTES: Senior Amari Carter pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds for Dunkirk. Sophomore Anna Tranum had five assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots for Maple Grove. … Both teams will play in the Frewsburg Holiday Tournament next Friday and Saturday. … Maple Grove was 27 for 81 (33.3 percent) from the field, including 5 of 21 (23.8 percent) from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 21 times. Dunkirk was 24 for 68 (35.2 percent) from the field, including 8 of 41 (19.5 percent) from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 24 times. … Carter and Kelsey Tarbrake were the Intense Milk/Cross Training Athletics Character Athletes of the Game for their respective teams.