OLD ORCHARD BEACH — For almost the entirety of the opening three quarters Thursday night, the Old Orchard Beach girls basketball team couldn’t buy an outshot shot.

Sometimes, though, it just takes one to get an entire team going.

That was the case for the normally sharpshooting Seagulls as Kelsey Custeau’s 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in the third ”“ the first time OOB had hit a shot outside of the paint all game ”“ pulled them to within nine of Waynflete.

That sparked a 19-8 fourth-quarter run ”“ built on the back of three more 3’s and some stifling man-to-man defense on the other end ”“ that saw OOB take its first lead at 44-43 on a Mackenzie Rague baseline jumper with 1:13 to go.

But in the last minute, Waynflete showed the composure you’d expect from a defending state champion as Leigh Fernandez hit three free throws, Helen Gray-Bauer made a key steal and the Flyers escaped 46-44 victors in an exciting, if at times ugly, matchup of previously-unbeaten Western Maine Conference Class C squads.

“That was a good game, that’s what you want early in the season,” Old Orchard Beach (4-1) coach Dean Plante said. “It’s a good barometer.”

“We hadn’t really been a battle yet, so to come here and beat who I think is probably the best C team in the conference is a huge win for us,” Waynflete (4-0) coach Brandon Salway added. “It’s a really good win, and I’m really proud of the kids being able to pull it out. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but we’ll take it.”

A work of art it certainly wasn’t as the teams’ near mirror-image game plans ”“ frantic full-court press defenses combined with aggressive, jack-it-up offenses ”“ made for a hectic pace for most of the game.

In total, the teams combined for 39 turnovers and a massive 131 shots, with both teams  shooting just above 22 percent from the field ”“ Waynflete was 14 of 63, while OOB was 15 of 68.

“We knew a shot clock wouldn’t come into play if there was one,” Salway said. “We both like to be aggressive offensively, and we both like to get up and down. I think that led to the poor shooting. It was ragged, kind of two teams slugging it out.”

That started from the get go as the teams took 21 shots apiece in an up-and-down first quarter that ended with the Flyers up just 8-6. The Seagulls missed seven uncontested layups in the quarter, a theme that would continue throughout.

“We had some great looks in that first quarter,” Plante said. “We had some good looks that didn’t fall, and when it comes down to it on possession wins and those bunnies are big.”

Waynflete extended its lead to 21-14 at the half, and to 34-22 late in the third as the Seagulls couldn’t find any sort of range beyond five feet.

That changed with Custeau’s 3-ball that made it 34-25 after three. After a Fernandez basket to open the fourth, OOB’s shots finally started to fall as two 3-pointers by Haley Plante and another from Custeau closed the gap to 41-34.

Rague and Fernandez then traded hoops, but two straight Abby Dubois layups off Waynflete turnovers and a Rague driving layup got the Seagulls to within 43-42 with 2:40 left.

“We knew that at some point one of them was going to start making a couple of three’s,” Salway said. “They went man on us, which took us out of a comfort zone. No one has played us man all year, and with the excitement of them making some 3’s gave them some energy.”

Waynflete’s next possession ended with Fernandez missing two foul shots, and Rague’s jumper gave OOB the lead with just over a minute to play.

But that would be the high-water mark for the Seagulls as Fernandez was fouled driving 10 seconds later and this time made her two free throws to put the Flyers back on top.

Old Orchard Beach missed its next chance to go up, but a drawn charge by Custeau got the Seagulls the ball back, which they promptly gave right back when Gray-Bauer leaped into the air to steal a pass with 15 seconds remaining.

Fernandez knocked down one of the two ensuing free throws to give her team a 46-44 lead, and Plante’s long 3 in the waning seconds drew only front rim.

“We got a look at the end,” Dean Plante said. “It wasn’t what we wanted but we had to kind of get it up when we could. I almost used the last timeout, but I figured let the flow go. It was a good learning experience.”

Fernandez led Waynflete with a game-high 22 points, while Juliana Harwood added 10.

As it has been throughout its first five games, Old Orchard Beach relied on balance as Dubois and Lauralee Small both scored 10, while Rague, Plante, Custeau and Peyton Feitz all chipped in six apiece.

The teams will meet again on Jan. 25, this time in Portland, and possibly again after that at some point in February.

“We knew they’d be on of our tougher opponents, but we think we can stay with anybody on this schedule,” Plante said. “We’ve just got to make shots.

“They took us out of our game a bit, they got us into a frantic pace at times but we are we kind of figured we were as a team. I’m not concerned with one game. This reaffirmed what I thought.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected].