SPALDING — They call this March Madness for a reason and two area girls’ basketball teams showed why here Monday night.

Powers North Central stayed alive by hanging on for a 46-42 triumph over Carney-Nadeau in a wild and wooly Division 4 district opener.

The victory enabled the Jets (10-10) to advance to tonight’s semifinal contest at Norway (17-4) at 6 p.m. The Wolves finished 7-15.

Sophomore Addy Otradovec gave the Jets a 37-18 cushion on a pair of free throws with 75 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Wolves, however, refused to go away as they responded with 17 unanswered points to close within 37-35 on a layup by freshman McKenna Thiry with 5:56 left in the contest.

“I don’t need any more excitement tonight,” Jets’ coach Brooke Granquist said. “I took (freshman) Autumn Triest out to give her a break and that’s when they started to knock down shots. Then, I had to put her back in. I didn’t expect that. When you’re up by 19 points, you expect things to be okay. Much to their credit the girls kept their heads, buckled down on defense and protected the ball which I think was the difference in the game.”

The Jets extended their lead to 41-35 on a seven-foot jump shot from the right baseline by senior Dalyn Otradovec with 5:15 remaining.

Thiry, however, drained a 20-foot jumper from the right wing to bring the Wolves within 41-38 at 3:05.

Triest knocked down an 18-foot set shot and Dalyn Otradovec sank a 10-foot jumper from the right baseline to put the Jets up 45-38 with less than two minutes remaining.

The Wolves got within 45-41 before Addy Otradovec split a pair of gifters to give the Jets a five-point cushion with 49.8 seconds left to play.

“We shot so bad in the first half,” C-N coach Paul Polfus said. “We couldn’t hit any shots. When we started to make shots, we went on a great run. What you do between now and November is what makes a difference. We had a nice run, then we made a turnover. We gave ourselves a shot. That’s all you can ask for.”

The Jets, who led 17-11 at halftime, came out like gangbusters in the third frame.

They answered with a 9-0 run, extending their lead to 26-11 on a layup by Dalyn Otradovec, set up on a pass from sophomore Natalie Willa.

North Central’s lead reached 35-16 on a gifter by Addy Otradovec at 3:23.

Sophomore Jayden Laurin trimmed C-N’s deficit to 35-18 on a 12-foot running jumper before going back down by 19 points.

Addy Otradovec matched her career-high with 20 points. Triest finished with nine and eighth-grader Myla Gorzinski had eight.

“I think we thought we had it,” Addy Otradovec said. “Then, they started hitting their shots. Coach Granquist called a time-out and that definitely helped us. We got our rhythm back. I think our defense was a real key. We made them drive. It’s easier to stop a drive than an outside shot.”

Thiry paced the Wolves with 14 points. Laurin added 13 and eighth-grader Jenah Ernest chipped in with eight.

“I wasn’t thinking of anything,” Thiry said. “We know we’re going to have the same team for the next few years. We’ll be in the gym a lot this summer.”

Both teams struggled from the free throw line. The Jets hit 13-of-24 shots and the Wolves finished 7-of-17.

Carney-Nadeau 3 8 11 20 — 42

North Central 10 7 20 9 — 46

Carney-Nadeau — Laurin 13, Thiry 14, C. Corrigan 5, Ernest 8, B. Corrigan 2. FT: 7-17; F: 20; Fouled out: Wolf; 3-point field goal: Thiry 3, Laurin 2, C. Corrigan, Ernest.

Powers North Central — Gorzinski 8, A. Otradovec 20, D. Otradovec 7, Triest 9, Willa 2. FT: 13-24; F: 17; Fouled out: None; 3-point field: Triest.