Even while treating it rightfully as a special occasion, Knights coach Mike Susi said he wanted that level of accomplishment to become a habit and an expectation.

So far, so good. No. 8 Poland pushed through the preliminary round at No. 9 Oak Hill’s expense for the second consecutive season, this time with ease, 47-24, on its home floor at Derek Pierce Gym.

“All summer, we said we need to get back to that game,” Susi said. “We need to improve and then get to that semifinal game. Mountain Valley is going to be a tall task. We’re going to have to play the best we humanly can play to give ourselves a chance.”

Poland (8-11) will face the top-seeded Falcons (17-1) at 4 p.m. next Tuesday, Feb. 16 at Portland Expo.

Sophomore point guard Nathalie Theriault, one of three Knights with significant experience from the Knights’ previous playoff run, matched Oak Hill’s output with 24 points.

She scored 17 in the second half, when the Knights ripped open what was a 14-5 halftime advantage. Poland shot a staggering 15-for-19 in the second half and 61 percent overall.

“I knew I had to push and do the best I could to either create for myself or create for others,” Theriault said. “Our defense has always sparked our offense, and we capitalized on that tonight.”

The Knights placed their greatest defensive emphasis on Grace Sabine and Bri Mulherin. Poland shut out Sabine until 2:39 remained in the game. Mulherin had only two points until a late 3-pointer. Each ended with five.

Maddy Bennett scored seven points to lead Oak Hill (8-11), which shot 10-for-43 (23 percent) from the field.

“We had a tough night shooting. If we could have even made layups, just a few, and kept us within a couple buckets, I think it would have made a big difference,” Oak Hill coach Charlie Castonguay said. “We played very well defensively, the first half, doing the things we thought we had to do. We just weren’t putting it in offensively.”

Jessica Seeley’s transition hoop, a Sarah Bolduc 3-pointer and Theriault’s slash to the basket after a nifty hesitation move put the Knights in command, 8-2, after one,

Theriault took it to the rim on consecutive possessions with similar results in the second period.

“She’s a very good player,” Castonguay said. “She’s a lefty, which you don’t see many, and she’s got some good skills, some good moves.”

Bennett’s putback with seven minutes to go was the Raiders’ second and final field goal of the half. 

Poland picked apart the defense for a fistful of uncontested layups in the third and fourth quarters, produced either by steals and fast breaks or by Theriault’s half-court quickness.

“She decided to play 32 (minutes) tonight and takle over the game when we needed a push to start the second half,” Susi said of Theriault.

Seeley and Lexi Grondin each cashed in twice after intermission for Poland, which didn’t miss in the fourth period.

The Knights spent the final week of the regular season watching the scoreboard and were comfortable drawing the Raiders as an opponent. Poland won at oak Hill, 41-36, a year ago.

“We played them before. We knew we could give them a game this time, and we did,” Theriault said.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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