Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Carney-Nadeau’s Tessa Wagner (25) pulls in a rebound against Mid Peninsula’s Chevy Koski (22) as Kennedy Englund (23) and Haley Ernest (2) look on Friday at Mid Pen.

ST. NICHOLAS — The Mid Peninsula girls stepped up to replace a suddenly absent Daisy Englund, but it wasn’t enough as the Carney-Nadeau Wolves sealed the game from the free throw line in the final minutes for a 52-44 road victory in Skyline Central Conference action Friday night.

After a high-flying third quarter in which Mid Pen (7-4, 4-4 SCC) outscored the Wolves 17-9 to claw within 38-36, it looked like momentum might have been shifting.

Carney (8-3, 7-3 SCC) was called for a travel in the first 10 seconds of the fourth, and Chevy Koski went 1 for 2 from the charity stripe to make it 38-37 shortly after.

However, the Wolves scored the next four points over the next minute on baskets from Taylor Kedsch and Zoey Poupore to give themselves some space.

“I thought our bigs did a really nice job,” Wolves coach Ken Linder said. “They kept switching up defenses on us, so we had to keep adjusting. I think they did a really good job and made some good decisions. Defensively, I think, is probably where we got the game done.”

It wasn’t until almost halfway through the quarter that the Wolverines’ Kennedy Englund sank two free throws to reduce their deficit to 42-39.

“We’re missing, probably, one of the best defensive players in the U.P. right now — Daisy Englund,” Wolverines coach Phil Croasdell said. “She had to go to the ER before the game, so the girls are kind of thinking about her. So, they weren’t themselves. We held our own against them, though, and I’m really proud of the girls.”

Kedsch and Jules Thoune answered back again, and the Wolves led 48-42 with 1:38 left. They then sealed the game by going 4 for 6 from the charity stripe down the stretch.

“I thought our hustle was really good,” Linder said. “Kennedy Englund is a really tough player, and I thought we did about as well as we could do on her. She made some really tough, contested shots. I swapped our guards around, and I thought all of them did a really good job. The rest of the team did a pretty good job of not letting the rest of them get too out of control. I knew she couldn’t beat us by herself, so as long as we didn’t let any of the other go off we could win.”

Giselle Laurila led the Wolves with 16 points. Sandra Boulton followed with 12, and Tessa Wagner notched 10.

The Wolverines were led by Kennedy Englund with 22 points and three triples, while Karley Prater added 10 points.

“(Without Daisy), we got a little jumbled up on offense,” Croasdell said. “Everyone was trying to find their spots, so that was a little tough to re-adjust. The other girls stepped up. Chevy did a great job against Wagner (despite the size difference). Karley Prater also had a good night when we needed it. I’m proud of how they played and gutted it out. Landry (Koski) came off the bench for some steals, and Elli (Paulsen) took care of their point guard. But it was tough. Carney’s a good team.”

Mid Pen, which won the JV game 42-38, visits Superior Central Monday. Carney hosts North Central Monday.

Carney-Nadeau 16 13 9 14 — 52

Mid Peninsula 15 4 17 8 — 44

Carney-Nadeau — Laurila 16, Boulton 12, Wagner 10, Poupore 6, Thoune 4, Kedsch 2, Ernest 2. F: 17; Fouled out: none; FT: 11-17; 3-point field goal: Laurila.

Mid Peninsula — K. Englund 22, Prater 10, C. Koski 8, L. Koski 3, Croasdell 1. F: 13; Fouled out: none; FT: 11-20; 3-point field goals: K. Englund 3, L. Koski 1, Prater 1.