The Maine Maniacs 12-U girls’ basketball team lost its first game Wednesday in the medal round of the AAU national tournament in Tennessee.

Maine’s undefeated run came to a close with a tough 49-45 loss to the North Carolina All-Stars. The game went back and forth from start to finish, with Maine holding a four- point lead after the first quarter and a three-point lead at the half before entering the final frame trailing by two points.

Difficulties at the free-throw line proved costly for the Maniacs, who hit only 10-of-30 against a very aggressive Carolina team. Maine played tough defense throughout against an athletic opponent, but turnovers and lack of success from the foul line kept the Maniacs from moving on in the winners’ bracket.

Nia Irving of Fairfield led Maine with 16 points and hauled down eight rebounds. Emily Jacques of Auburn scored eight points and had her third game with 11 rebounds, while CeCe Hancock of Casco added six points and three steals.

Maine will play at noon Thursday to stay alive in the consolation portion of the medal round.

The Maniacs were the No. 1 seed in pool play, finishing 3-0 after a pair of wins Tuesday.

Down eight points with 2:40 to go, Maine rallied to the Tennessee Fury in its second game of the doubleheader. Irving rebounded a missed free throw with eight seconds remaining and scored the putback.

After advancing the ball and using two timeouts, the Fury took a 3-pointer at the buzzer that fell short, giving the Maniacs the exciting victory.

Tennessee tied the game on a free throw with 15 seconds to go. Hancock got the inbounds pass and pushed the length of the floor to draw a foul. Irving’s aggressive offensive rebound and score capped a tremendous day for the Maniacs.

Irving scored eight of her 16 points in the fourth quarter along with nine rebounds, and fellow Fairfield native Dom Lewis added 10 points and five rebounds to the winning cause. Ashley Howe of Saco chipped in nine points, Wilton’s Caitlin Kane corraled eight rebounds, and Hancock had three steals.

Maine also defeated the Indiana Flight, 47-37, pulling away midway through the fourth quarter in a hard-nosed contest.

Howe led the team with 11 points and nine rebounds. Jacques scored seven and recorded a team-high 11 boards. Hancock added seven points and six rebounds, and Kane led the team with five steals.