TURNER — The Nokomis girls’ basketball team got to see what happened when they were able to push unbeaten Leavitt Thursday night. Then the Warriors got to see what happened when the Hornets pushed back.

Nokomis built an early double-digit lead but watched Leavitt roar from behind to tie the game in the final minute. The Warriors then answered with 11 straight points to hand the Hornets their first loss, 64-57.

“Traditionally, in that type of situation, we’ve kind of fallen apart,” said Nokomis coach Kori Dionne. “We kept our composure tonight. I’m so proud of my girls.”

The Warriors hit 21-of-23 free throws, including their first 16. Julie Smith had 11 of her 14 points in the final quarter and hit nine free throws. She had seven of the last 11 points for Nokomis.

“We kept our composure,” said Smith, a junior guard. “We were nervous, but we held it together, and we played strong. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Leavitt (8-1) was ranked first in Western B and were averaging 70 points for per game and just 37 against. Nokomis (8-2) was ranked fifth in Eastern B.

“I thought we played a great game,” said Leavitt coach Tammy Anderson. “We had a lot of in-and-outs that were right there.

“You’ve got to hand it to them. They hit their foul shots. They missed two foul shots in the game. You’re not going to lose many game shooting like that at the foul line.”

Mary Badeen led the Warriors with 19. Kara Batchelder added 11 and Marissa Shaw had 10. Courtney Anderson had 22 for Leavitt while Kristen Anderson chipped in 18.

Nokomis was an opponent that could challenge Leavitt in a variety of ways. The Warriors had a strong post game and won the battle in the paint most of the night. Nokomis also has some great ballhandlers in Smith and  Badeen. That enabled the Warriors to limit turnovers which took away Leavitt’s transition game. Nokomis also played a strong disciplined defensive game and had the Hornet’s offense struggling to find a rhythm.

“The two keys for us was to take care of the basketball because we know they take advantage of our steals, and our transition defense, we didn’t want to give up anything easy on the other end,” said Dionne. “We went out and we executed. I couldn’t have asked my kids to go out and play a better basketball game.”

Both teams battled foul trouble from the start. Nokomis had center Danielle Watson pick up two quick fouls and Badeen and Smith both had four and three fouls in the second half. Leavitt’s Kristen Anderson and Adrie Newton were in foul trouble early. Courtney Anderson and Abbey Randall both fouled out in the final minute.

Nokomis was also able to score points and even try and outgun the Hornets, which hadn’t allowed more than 47 points all year. The Warriors hit nine 3-pointers, five from Badeen and three from Batchelder. That shooting enabled Nokomis to build the early lead. A 3-pointer by Smith and a four-point play by Batchelder had the lead up to eight in the first, but Courtney Anderson scored nine points to end the first getting the Hornets within 16-14.

In the second quarter, 3-pointers by Batchelder and Badeen had the lead up to 27-16. The lead was eight at the half, and Leavitt closed the gap in the third. Nokomis struggled to score with consistency, and the Hornets began hitting shots. Kristen Anderson’s 3-pointer from just inside halfcourt made it 37-35 after three.

Nokomis opened the lead back to 50-43 in the fourth on a pair of 3-pointers by Badeen, but Leavitt kept charging. Baskets by Courtney Anderson and free throws by Newton had the game at 52-51 with 1:57 left. With Courtney Anderson nursing four fouls, Smith drove on her to the basket for a 54-51 lead.

“I recognized that, and I think she knew it too,” said Smith. “I took advantage of that.”

Leavitt answered when Kristen Anderson drilled a 3-pointer from beyond the arc with 1:03 left.

“Normally, we get scared and don’t know what to do, but tonight, we knew we had to hold it together,” said Smith.

Smith drew a foul on the next possession and calmly sank two free throws. Leavitt’s hopes to match that was foiled by a Batchelder steal. Badeen was fouled, as Courtney Anderson drew her fifth, and hit two more free throws. Leavitt tried a few desperate heaves by Kristen Anderson for a quick fix but missed. The Hornets fouled, but Nokomis got free throws by Batchelder and Smith to build a 64-54 lead before Anderson hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“It was one of those hard fought battles where somebody’s going to lose,” said Anderson. “We always said that if the scoreboard doesn’t have us on top, they better know they’ve been in a battle. I think they know they were in a battle. So we walk out of there saying we did everything we could.”