AUBURN – As the game went into overtime Saturday afternoon, there was a sense of both relief and trepidation for the St. Dom’s girls’ basketball team.

The Saints were pleased to have rallied in the final quarter and made a key defensive stop to force overtime. St. Dom’s was also a bit concerned since the team hadn’t played an extra session this season.

“I wasn’t sure how the girls were going to react, but we discovered that the girls came to play,” St. Dom’s coach Paul Rheaume said.

The Saints showed there was no cause for concern. Catherine Joseph scored eight points in overtime, and St. Dom’s prevailed with a 59-51 victory.

“It was exciting,” said Joseph, who finished with 19 points. “We were down in the fourth quarter. So to be able to make it to overtime was exciting. I thought we handled it pretty well and came out on a scoring spree.”

Allaina Murphy led the Saints (7-5) with 22 points. She helped erase a 36-30 deficit in the fourth after nursing foul trouble. She had 10 points in the final quarter as the Saints exploited their advantage inside.

“We wanted to go inside because we’ve got a couple of good post players, and they only have one,” Rheaume said. “I think that paid off in the end.”

In overtime, with Murphy drawing more attention from Poland defenders, Joseph found room.

“It helps when one of us has a bigger beginning,” Joseph said. “Like if Allaina has a big night, they concentrate on her and leave me open, and vice versa.”

Paige Piper led the Knights (4-9) with 15 while Krystal Malpass added 10.

“I was very pleased with our offense,” Poland coach Rus Willette said. “I felt like we moved the ball well. We moved side-to-side, and we cut well. I thought we were patient. Early in the game, we got the shots we wanted, but we didn’t hit a lot of shots.”

Poland erased a 28-25 deficit late in the third and took the lead with eight straight points. A Piper 3-pointer early in the fourth made it 36-30, but the Saints answered with five straight.

The two teams traded the lead and stayed within a point of each other the rest of the way. A Joseph basket off an inbounds play made it 45-42 with 38 seconds left in regulation, but Jen Dionne hit a 3-pointer to tie it for Poland.

After a St. Dom’s miss and Dionne rebound with 13 seconds left, the Knights had a chance at the game-winner. St. Dom’s Beth Pare led a defensive stop that forced a traveling call and overtime.

“I was disappointed at the end of regulation,” Willette said. “We had a chance with 11 seconds to go to win the game, and we dribbled into a double team.”

The Knights had first crack in overtime, but a miss in the paint led to a Saints’ possession. Joseph was fouled and hit two free throws. Then after another Poland miss, Joseph hit a turn-around shot for a four-point cushion.

Back-to-back baskets by Piper tied the game with 2:14 left, but Kelsey Murphy hit a pair of free throws. Then, Elise Applegate fed Joseph and Pare set up Murphy for a 55-49 lead. Poland, which lost both Danielle Belanger and Piper to foul trouble in overtime, got free throws by Malpass, but Joseph and Pare hit free throws to seal it.

The Saints shot 27-for-30 from the foul line.

“We shoot a lot of foul shots in practice,” Rheaume said. “We practice a lot of foul shots for end-of-the-game situations. We work really hard on foul shots just for this situation. We probably shoot 50 foul shots apiece per night.”