SACO — Throughout the game, the struggling Thornton Academy girls’ basketball players were looking for a spark. And even though it didn’t come until very late in the fourth quarter, it was enough to carry the Trojans to a victory.

Down by seven with just over two minutes remaining in the game, Thornton Academy forced overtime and then used its depth to pull away from Bonny Eagle 42-36 Tuesday night in a Class AA South girls’ basketball game. Kate LeBlanc’s 3-pointer with 2:12 remaining got the Trojans rolling and they outscored the Scots 20-7 the rest of the way.

“We just needed a spark and got that before overtime,” said Thornton sophomore guard Addisen Sulikowski. “Kate hit that three. And after that, we all just got really hyped and started making better passes. Then we got to overtime and kept the spark going.”

The victory lifted Thornton Academy to 4-0 while Bonny Eagle dropped to 2-2. The Scots controlled most of the game, but could only hit eight of 26 foul shots, including 1 of 7 in the fourth quarter.

“You know what? I’m incredibly proud of how we played this game,” said Bonny Eagle Coach Scott Regan. “I’ll take this one, this is my fault. We weren’t ready to finish out a game. We’ve got to work on how to finish. That’s a great team.”

Bonny Eagle’s match-up zone defense gave the Trojans fits. With 6-foot-6 junior Kaitlyn Bartash in the middle, the Trojans were reluctant to go inside. And facing a zone for the first time this year, they shot just 3 for 30 from 3-point distance in regulation.

With Bartash (15 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks), Kianna Shaw (five points, six rebounds) and Ember Hastings (four points, 13 rebounds), controlling the inside, the Scots moved to a 29-22 lead early in the fourth. But Thornton’s defense, long the staple of the program, was equally impressive, forcing 27 turnovers to keep the game close.

Then LeBlanc hit her 3 from the left of the key to make it 29-25 with 2:12 left and everything changed.

“It really brought everyone together and made everyone trust each other,” said Jessica Dow, who led the Trojans with 11 points.

After a couple of Bonny Eagle turnovers, Dow hit a foul line leaner to make it 29-27 with 1:10 remaining. After a couple of missed Scot foul shots, Sulikowski tied it with 5.5 seconds left in the fourth with a 10-footer from the right.

In overtime, Thornton got 3-pointers from Mikenzie Melendez and Dow on its first two possessions and it was suddenly 35-29. The Scots got within 35-34 on a foul shot by Hastings with 1:36 left, but Dow broke the press for a layup and then Claudia Pelletier and Hannah Cook each hit two foul shots to make it 41-34 with just 37.4 seconds remaining.

“The word that we used in the locker room was resiliency,” said Thornton Coach Eric Marston. “The girls clawed their way back with just a few minutes to go. And the thing that I love about this team is that it’s always somebody different that provides the spark. And the other kids feed off it, from bench to basket.”

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