By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – Ever come across someone who seemingly has an answer for everything?

The Mt. Blue girls’ basketball team discovered that very trait in the collective makeup of the Nokomis Warriors on Tuesday night.

When the Cougars rallied in their Eastern A preliminary game, Nokomis always had a response in a 57-45 victory.

“We tried to throw different things at them, and it didn’t work,” said Mt. Blue coach Jeannine Paradis. “Come tournament time, there’s no better coach than Earl Anderson.”

Mt. Blue (11-8) fell behind early, turning the ball over five times on its first six possessions. When Nokomis (11-8) built a double-digit lead in the second quarter, it seized control of the game.

“They made a couple of runs, but they never could get completely over the hump,” said Anderson. “Somebody made a play either at the defensive end or the offensive end or both.”

Three times during the final three quarters, Mt. Blue pulled within three points, only to see the Warriors bump the lead back up again in a hurry. Nokomis took care of the ball and got an abundance of key rebounds to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal.

“We played with heart,” said Nokomis guard Kelley Paradis, whose club beat Mt. Blue in December, 40-36, but lost last month, 44-38. “We wanted to show them that they weren’t going to beat us a second time. We wanted to play with all we had.”

Paradis sparked the Warriors with 11 of her 16 points in the first half. Mt. Blue didn’t help its cause with 11 turnovers during that stretch, seven in the opening quarter.

“It came down to the first four possessions of the game when we should have scored,” said Jeannine Paradis. “It should have been 8-0 in the first four possessions. Instead, we threw the ball away.”

Two jumpers from Paradis to start the second quarter had Nokomis up 19-7, but Christina Mosher led the Cougars cause. She finished with 28 points and had seven points in the second quarter, getting the Cougars within 21-18. A Tatum Welch rebound made it 23-18. After Mt. Blue missed, Paradis scored on a rebound in the final seconds.

“It was a good way to end the half,” said Kelley Paradis. “There was a lot of excitement in the locker room.”

A Mosher three-point play and another score made it 32-27 in the third, but Paradis and Welch, who finished with 16 points, built the lead back up to 36-27.

The Cougars made another charge early in the fourth. A 3-pointer from Sarah Fournier and free throws from Mosher made it 42-39, but a Mosher hoop that would have made it a one-point game was wiped out because of a traveling call.

Nokomis answered with a Rozlyn Petersen free throw. After she missed her second attempt, Ashley Bragdon put back the rebound. After a Mosher leaner, Bragdon buried a 3 for a 48-41 lead. Mosher sank two more free throws, but Nokomis ran off eight straight.

“This is our time of year,” said Anderson. “We’re playing well. “I like where we are right now. I like the way they’re playing.”