Kymi Nance of Dunkirk drives during Friday's game against Chautauqua Lake in Mayville. Photo by Cameron Hurst.

MAYVILLE — Up 54-33 late in the third quarter, Ken Ricker could feel his Dunkirk girls basketball team closing in on a victory over Chautauqua Lake.

“There were two stretches where I thought, ‘Man, that was such a good run. We’re going to put them away,'” the head coach said.

And then, the Thunderbirds woke up.

“I called a timeout and told them not even to focus on the score at all,” Chautauqua Lake head coach Bill Persons said after the game. “I wanted them to look at the possession at hand on offense or defense. If they would’ve looked beyond, it would’ve been overwhelming. I just wanted to keep their heads clear and in the moment.”

A 13-0 run, led by Lily Woodis and Mercedez Obert, to close out the third quarter, narrowed Chautauqua Lake’s deficit to eight heading into the fourth.

“Both times you feel so good, then you look and it’s two minutes later and it’s six points,” Ricker said of Chautauqua Lake’s run. “They just are a great team. We let them back in just a little and let them win the third quarter so at the start of the fourth quarter, we wanted to win it one possession at the time.”

The Marauders (12-1, 6-1) did just that to hold off Chautauqua Lake (9-5, 3-4), 70-61, during Friday night’s Chautauqua Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 West matchup.

“That’s part of our system here,” Ricker said. “You’re going to have those spurts where you push a lead and we did that a couple of times and just enough to win tonight.”

The Marauders were aided by senior Nadara O’Dell, who finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, but it was fellow senior, Kymi Nance, who came through big for Dunkirk in the second half, scoring 10 of her 15 points in the last two quarters.

“Offensively, she’s different than anybody we have and anybody in the league, in my opinion because she can create so well for herself and she can create so well for others,” Ricker said, emphasizing her role in Dunkirk’s 15-0 run early in the third quarter. “When we get on those spurts, it’s because she’s getting a layup or she’s getting (O’Dell) a layup and then she’s finding someone else. She really is different. She doesn’t see herself that way and I’m trying to get her to see herself the way that I see her. I think she could be the best player in the league, and should be.”

Still, Persons was pleased with his team’s effort, especially that of Woodis, who finished with 12 points, and Kyleigh Perdue, who led the team with 15.

“I give a lot of credit to my girls,” he said “They just play with the attitude of never give up. They continue to hustle. It was tough. We couldn’t get to that point. In the fourth, we got it down. The momentum was in our favor and we just couldn’t get it to that point. We executed the game plan well and forced Dunkirk to get shots that we want to.”

Despite the loss, Persons is hopeful that his team will continue its strong play as the league schedule continues.

“Our entire league is really tough,” he said. “We’re playing all these tough teams in our league. They’re all B schools. It’s going to pay dividends playoff time, especially if we can be in close games all year against these caliber teams.

Regarding the level of difficulty within the league, Ricker agreed.

“Our league is so good that we just have to keep winning the next one,” he said. “We play Maple Grove next week and they are tied for first in the league with us. That’s a huge game.”

He added,” Winning the league title is a big deal for us and if we can win that game, then we’ll move one game ahead of them and keep working. In this league, we only talk about the next game and who is next work to prepare for them.”

NOTES: The game was called with 14.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter after an injury to Chautauqua Lake sophomore Alexis Jacobson, who finished the game with 9 points, tied for the team lead in rebounds with Rebecca Henry with 10 and dished out a team-high 9 assists. … Dunkirk’s Jessica Beehler had 11 points and led the team in assists and steals with eight and seven respectively. … Amari Carter recorded a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, while O’Dell added nine rebounds.