OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Undefeated, with a core of experienced seniors and beating teams by an average of 25 points a game, Class C Old Orchard Beach knew it would be in for a test against Class B Poland Thursday night.

That test came in the second half Thursday when Poland cranked up a full-court press and finally got an occasional shot to go down. But the Gulls put together a game-closing 12-0 run to beat the Knights, 39-28.

After a difficult first half, Poland (5-4) took its first lead of the game on a Hope Kohtala basket with three minutes to play. OOB freshman Brianna Plante promptly responded with the game’s biggest basket. Plante drained a right-wing 3-pointer in transition to ignite the 12-0 run.

“I didn’t really know it was a big shot,” said Plante, one of Coach Dean Plante’s two daughters on the team. “But I heard the crowd so I knew and it was exciting. I usually make them when they count the most, when I’m under pressure.”

The Gulls’ key seniors also came through down the stretch to push their record to 6-0.

“We talked about pregame that this was going to be a four-quarter game,” Dean Plante said. “You knew they were going to make a run. I told them exactly what was going to happen and it did. We have four really composed seniors and they took over. Mackenzie Rague was the best player on the floor tonight, I thought.”

Rague, the Gulls’ point guard, kept the ball in her hands down the stretch and coolly made six of eight free throws in the fourth quarter, including four straight after Plante’s 3-pointer to extend the lead.

Playing with a sore hamstring, Abby Dubois (10 points) made her only two baskets of the game in the fourth quarter.

In its previous games, Old Orchard has been able to use its combination of full-court press defense, transition offense and just enough 3-point shooting to dominate opponents.

Dubois said she knew Poland’s size on the perimeter and competitive experience would be a greater challenge.

“We thought this would be a hump and now that we got over this it’s pretty exciting,” Dubois said. “We think we learned that when we play well collectively, all together as a team, we can pull through anything.”

Kohtala led the Knights with 10 points, seven in the third quarter. Her 3-pointer 54 seconds into the third quarter was Poland’s second basket of the game and cut the Old Orchard lead to 19-10. Michaella Arsenault added seven points on a tough shooting night. Arsenault’s second 3-pointer tied the game, 24-24, early in the fourth quarter.

As a team, Poland made 1 of 20 shots in the first half, a running leaner by freshman Nathalie Theriault, who demonstrated good passing skills and tenacity. Her crisp bounce pass into the lane set up Kohtala’s go-ahead basket.

“It was the tale of two halves. We’ve got to play 32 minutes to beat anybody,” Poland Coach Mike Susi said. “That’s something we’ve stressed all season long. Everybody we play is good.”

Old Orchard made 18 of 28 free throws while Poland was 7 of 17.

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