Portland’s girls’ basketball team was missing a standout Tuesday evening, but luckily for the Bulldogs, they have plenty of talent in reserve.

Facing seventh-ranked Bangor in a Class AA North quarterfinal at the Portland Expo, second-seeded Portland had to overcome the loss of Gemima Motema, who fractured her foot in the regular-season finale at Deering and will miss the postseason.

So the Bulldogs turned to Motema’s cousins, freshmen Amanda Kabantu and Davina Kabantu, and their lone player with playoff experience, Shayla Eubanks, to spark a 62-39 victory that avenged a loss to the Rams earlier this season.

Portland led by seven points, 40-33, heading into the fourth quarter, but the Kabantu sisters sparked a 12-1 run that blew it open and a game-high 20 points from Eubanks helped the Bulldogs make it to the semifinals for the first time since 2014.

“This is a big deal,” said Eubanks, who played a supporting role in the postseason as a freshman. “We knew we had to buckle down in the fourth quarter. We were all focused on pulling out this win. It was a little bit of a mental hurdle knowing they beat us last time. It was time for revenge.”

Portland started fast, riding two 3-pointers from Amanda Kabantu and another from Grace Stacey to lead 19-13 after one quarter. Both teams went cold in the second quarter, each scoring six points, and the Bulldogs held a 25-19 advantage.

In the third quarter, Portland tried to pull away, going up by as many as 12 on another 3 from Amanda Kabantu, but Bangor, which doesn’t have a single senior on its roster, pulled within 40-33 after a late three-point play from Olivia Sharrow.

Davina Kabantu then started the fourth quarter with a jumper after a nice head fake, Amanda Kabantu set up Kiera Eubanks for a layup and Amanda Kabantu added a jumper to stretch the lead to 46-33.

When Davina Kabantu hit two free throws and Shayla Eubanks added two more, the lead was 20 points, 55-35.

The Bulldogs’ reserves then closed the door.

“This is huge for our program,” said Portland Coach Gerry Corcoran.

“We knew Bangor was a good, scrappy team that beat us on their floor. I was happy with our execution. It was the girls’ first playoff experience and we fought hard.”

Amanda Kabantu had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Davina Kabantu added seven points, five rebounds and two steals.

“I was sad when (Gemima) got hurt, but we made her proud tonight,” said Davina Kabantu. “We played for her. I’m so excited to play another game.”

“I challenged all the girls to step up and I knew Amanda would be there,” Corcoran said. “She’s been playing in Gemima’s shadow. I was hoping she’d step up and she did.”

Bangor (4-15) was paced by 13 points from Sharrow and 10 from Libby Fleming.

The Bulldogs (13-6) will meet either Edward Little or Lewiston in the semifinals next week at the Cross Insurance Arena.