But the tournament is often a fresh start for prep teams, and because of that and because there are nerves involved, the results can sometimes be perplexing.

Monday’s Division 4 District 99 game was exactly that, though the Knights prevailed 32-22. But the Lady Trojans hung around and hung around and hung around until some free throws by the Knights opened up the point differential near the end.

“Forest Park came out to play,” Norway coach Joe Tinti said. “Everyone’s 0-0 at this time of year and anything can happen. They call it ‘March Madness’ for a reason.

“But we battled. It’s tournament basketball and we did what we needed to do to win.”

Forest Park freshman Lily Post (23) finds it tough going trying to drive between Norway’s Donna VanHolla (00) and Hannah Burklund (3). Post scored three points in her first district game, but the Lady Trojans’ season ended with a 32-22 defeat to host Norway.

With that win, the Knights (11-9) advance to the semifinals where they will play top-seeded and UPSSA Division 4 second-ranked Carney-Nadeau (19-1) on Wednesday.

On Monday, the Knights started well, taking a 13-5 lead after the first quarter on the strength of four points each from Andi Carlson and Hannah Burklund and three from Averie Popp.

But the Forest Park 2-3 matchup defense started to cause the Knights fits in the second quarter. The Lady Trojans (2-17) setup forced Norway to initiate its offense much further out than it wanted and Forest Park knew which spots and players to cover.

“We scouted them hard, and we knew where they were going to put people so we made those match-up moves,” Forest Park coach Kim Bjork said. “(The matchup zone) is something we’ve been working on. It’s not easy to teach, but it’s something we’ve had in our program and with the right group, sometimes you can make it work.”

It did Monday night. The Lady Trojans held Norway to just four points in the second quarter and five in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Forest Park crept to within 17-14 at halftime and trailed just 22-16 at the end of three quarters.

Norway junior forward Andi Carlson (30) fires a shot over Forest Park’s Charlie Larson (11) and Maddie Divine (10) during the Division 4 District 99 opening-round matchup between the teams Monday night at Norway High School. Carlson led all scorers with 14 points and played a fine all-around game in the Knights’ 32-22 victory over the Lady Trojans. Divine, a senior, played in her last game for Forest Park.

“We were in it the whole game pretty much,” Bjork said. “We got down a little but then we fought our way back.”

Meanwhile, the Knights couldn’t get the lid off the bucket to begin the third quarter. Norway did not score until Jada Freudinger sank a layup after her offensive rebound with 1:30 left in the period.

“Jada had a couple of big (offensive rebounds),” Tinti said. “She was physical all night, And then down the stretch, we had (Forest Park) in the double bonus and we were able to add to our lead.”

Norway’s best player in the game was junior Andi Carlson, who led all scorers with 14 points. She also contributed heavily on the boards and had several steals and blocked shots.

“Andi has turned it on,” said Tinti of Carlson, who is averaging 12 points and 14 rebounds per game. “Tonight, she started fast, usually she finishes strong. Watching her grow and mature this year has been fun.”

While the Knights get a shot at the highly regarded Wolves (19-1), the Lady Trojans close their 2021-22 chapter. Seniors Maddie Divine, Rayven Jacobson and Gracie Peterson (who led her team with 12 points) played their final games.

“It is an end,” Bjork said. “You put in four years of time into a program, and it’s hard to lose. It’s hard to lose as an adult. As a kid, it’s even harder.

“Like I told them, sometimes losing builds mental toughness, like you’re able to get through the whole year without complaining and without saying “I’m done, I’m out of here.’ They hung in there and it was nice to see that.”

Jerry DeRoche can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 244, or at jderoche@ironmountaindailynews.com.