Once Avery Bessey got going, the outlook brightened for top-seeded Spruce Mountain in its Class B South girls basketball quarterfinal Saturday against ninth-seeded Lincoln Academy.

The Ms. Basketball semifinalist was held scoreless into the fourth quarter, but her 3-pointer in the middle of the fourth gave the Phoenix a lead for the first time since the first quarter.

Bessey eventually finished with 12 points as the Phoenix (18-1) pulled out a 65-57 overtime win at the Portland Expo.

“I think when she’s like hitting all her shots, or most of them, that we pick up the energy, and we all feed off of it,” said teammate Maddie Grimaldi.

Bessey said she wasn’t concerned about the lack of points.

“I don’t really care, because there’s four other girls on the court that can do the scoring just as good,” Bessey said. “But once I have my chance, I shoot it, and hopefully it goes in.”

Grimaldi, DeLisle carry their teams

•  Grimaldi scored 25 points for the Phoenix, and Lincoln’s Mariam DeLisle poured in 28 points.

“Yeah, she’d done that all year, so we definitely looked to her as a scorer and as a leader on and off the court,” Lincoln coach Cagney O’Brien said of DeLisle. “So we knew coming in, and Spruce knew coming in, that we would rely heavy on her. She didn’t let the face-guarding or anything like that get in her way or affect her game, and she just played her heart out.”

•  Spruce Mountain coach Zach Keene said Grimaldi was in top form.

“Maddie’s as good as anybody, and I know being in central Maine, that might not be the case as far as her view of it, but Maddie’s as good as anybody from any area of the state, and I think she showed that today throughout,” Keene said.

How did Spruce win it?

•  Once Bessey hit her 3 to give the Phoenix a 48-45 lead, the game was back and forth for the rest of the fourth quarter. Lincoln’s Chloe Anderson forced overtime with a bucket near the end of regulation.

•  Spruce Mountain built a 62-57 lead in overtime before Lincoln (9-11) was forced to start fouling.

“A lot of people thought we were going to be not good this year,” said Grimaldi, whose team trailed 22-12 in the first half. “And I think, after we came back from being down 10, we were like, let’s just pull it out.”

They said it

•  “Just that they did everything we wanted and needed them to do to battle that No. 1 seed. We knew as a coaching staff that we belonged here, and we can battle with any team, really, and we think we proved that tonight.” — Cagney O’Brien

• “We won the game because of what the players did. That’s a tough opponent. It took a lot of mental toughness to be down 10 and down five. I felt like every time we got to a good position, they made a play, so (it was important) for us to stick to it. And Riley Small, I don’t know what she finished with rebound-wise, but she was unbelievable today.” — Zach Keene

Other statistical leaders

• Lincoln Academy: Chloe Anderson (seven points), Rowan Coffin (seven points)

• Spruce Mountain: Natasha McDonald (13 points), Riley Small (12 points, 12 rebounds)