They’ve jumped on the back of their star player, they’ve played tenacious individual and team defense and they’ve received timely scoring from some unsung heroes.

Those ingredients were all there Monday night when the Knights continued their recent surge with a 45-41 victory over Munising in a MHSAA Division 4 Regional 25 semifinal played at Kingsford High School.

Junior point guard Lauren Adams led the way again, pouring in 29 points — 13 of them in the opening quarter and 20 by halftime.

“This is an incredible experience,” Adams said. “You know two years ago we made this far and to feel that again with this team is just incredible. And I know that this team is never going to be a team again so we just have to take it in and get as far as we can.”

Knights sophomore Jessa Rossler (21) fires a 3-pointer from the corner as coach Brian Adams looks on. The Knights won 45-41 to advance to today’s regional final against Ewen-Trout Creek in Marquette.

In their way next is Ewen-Trout Creek, which defeated Hancock 37-27 in the other Regional 25 semifinal.

The Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Division 4 second-ranked Panthers (24-1) defeated the Knights 61-35 in Norway’s first game of the season. But that was light years ago for the Knights, who have won eight games in a row and 10 of their last 11.

For the third straight tournament game, the Knights (16-9) jumped their opponents early. This time, Norway grabbed an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes and increased that to 13 with a minute to play in the opening period.

And once again it was Adams who shot out of the gate like a thoroughbred. She started things with a putback 30 seconds in and then buried a deep 3-pointer from the top a minute later.

After senior Abby Richter splashed a 3-pointer, Adams swished another triple to put her team up 11-2.

“She is on fire,” Norway coach Brian Adams said of his daughter. “I keep thinking to myself, ‘Well, she’s doing her thing and we have other good shooters, so we’re in good shape.”

The Knights took a 20-9 lead into the second quarter, but the Mustangs (20-5) fought back on the strength of two quick buckets from freshman Addie Bowerman, two free throws from senior Dayne Behning and a bucket from four-year varsity standout Bailey Corcoran.

Adams answered with a driving bucket and a free throw but Behning responded with two hoops to help her team pull within 27-22 at the break.

Coach Adams’ talk at halftime was to the point.

“We weren’t really getting a lot from (players other than Lauren) in the first half and that was kind of the message, ‘You (others) have got to hit a shot. I know they were trying to but at some point we needed shots.”

The second half did not start out well for the Knights. Corcoran produced a putback and a shot off the drive to get her team within reach of taking the lead.

Adams kept the Knights out front with a mid-range jumper and a layup but Munising went on an 8-0 run shortly after to take go up 34-31 with 2:18 left in the quarter.

Once again, it was the trio of Corcoran, Behning and Bowerman who did the damage. Both Corcoran and Bowerman took advantage of Norway’s smaller defenders at times throughout the game.

“We gave up a lot of size tonight,” Coach Adams said. “We knew that was going to be a problem, it was a problem, we’re not very big, but we’ve got a lot of heart and we keep battling.”

After the Mustangs looked prime to take control, Coach Adams switched back to a man-to-man defense after utilizing various zones because of foul problems.

The defensive switch changed the energy of the game. Adams’ team started to lock down the Mustangs and at the same time began moving again on offense after a lengthy period of stagnant play.

With 90 seconds left in the third quarter, Norway made its move. Adams knocked down two free throws to get her team back to within 34-33.

Then the silent shooters came alive. Rossler buried a triple with 59 seconds left as the Knights retook the lead. Then 26 seconds later, junior Paytan Carlson, scoreless to that point, sank a 3-pointer to put the Knights up 39-33 heading down the stretch.

“By that time, we were holding on by a thread,” Coach Adams said. “So those were big shots by big-time shooters for us.”

“When my teammates hit shots, it’s just an incredible feeling and the gym goes crazy,” Lauren said. “They get confidence and it’s great.”

Nevertheless, the Mustangs were not done. Corcoran scored in the post and Behning sank a free-throw line jumper to pull Munising back within three at 42-39.

But the Knights had one more answer as Rossler hit her second triple of the game with 3:15 to play to put Norway up six.

From there, the Knights’ ball-handling advantage came to the forefront. With Adams controlling the ball, Norway ran clock as Munising fouled repeatedly.

And when the Mustangs got the ball back with less than 30 seconds to play, the Norway defense did not allow any penetration or open perimeter shots and Munising ran out of time.

So a team which started the season with five consecutive losses and which sported a 6-8 record in the first week of February is now playing in a regional final for the second time in three seasons.

Up next is the squad the Knights began their season against. As well as they’re playing, the Knights know they’re up against an E-TC team that has won 18 straight games and whose only loss came to the team that topped the Division 1-3 poll the entire season — the Negaunee Miners.

“They can shoot, they’re quick and they’ve got a nice big inside,” said Coach Adams, who mentioned that his team trailed the Panthers by three points at halftime in the first matchup before E-TC pulled away in the third quarter. “But we’re a different team and they are, too.”

SCORING

MUNISING – Corcoran 8 1-2 17, Bowerman 4 3-7 11, Behning 5 2-2 13. Totals: 17 6-11 41. Three-pointers: 1 (Behning). Turnovers: 29.

NORWAY – Adams 11 3-4 29, Richter 1 0-0 3, Rossler 2 1-2 7, Cavagnetto 1 0-0 3, Carlson 1 0-0 3. Totals 16 4-6 45. Three-pointers: 9 (Adams 4, Rossler 2, Richter, Cavagnetto, Carlson). Turnovers: 16.