In a tight game late in the second half, Wayzata had a four-point lead before one of Miller’s clutch 3-point shots to get within one. A pair of free throws from Wayzata’s Brynn Senden put the Trojans back up by three with 37.7 seconds left. But Knights sophomore Ava Haus picked a great time for her only points of the game, sinking a 3-pointer from the corner with 28 seconds on the clock for the tie game.

After Wayzata missed another chance to score, the Knights had one more opportunity to end the game in regulation. Ja’kahla Craft dished the ball to Johnson in the lane, but her shot wouldn’t fall. As the buzzer rang out, Miller tried another shot from beyond the arc. It missed, her shoulders fell in dejection and the teams regrouped for the four-minute overtime period tied at 68-68.

Wayzata opened the overtime scoring and got six points in the extra period from junior Abby Krzewinski underneath the basket. But the Knights kept pace before a couple of clutch 3s, first from Johnson with 1 minute, 29 seconds left in overtime for a 75-72 lead and then the dagger from Miller, a three with 32 seconds on the clock to open up a four-point lead.

“How ice in the veins is that kid?” Hamre said. “Just to come out, hit that shot. I was saying, ‘no, no, no,’ and then it went.”

Said Johnson: “When she hit the 3, I was just feelin’ it. I was like, ‘this is game now.’ It was a good feeling.”

The Knights (17-4), ranked No. 5 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, won both games against Wayzata this season, also defeating the 4A-No. 7-ranked Trojans (14-5) by a 55-52 margin on Jan. 14 as part of the Knights’ eight-game winning streak this season.

Braun got her team within two with a bucket with 12.3 seconds left in overtime, but Braun’s 3-point shooting — which was red-hot in the second half, sinking five treys — cooled off in overtime. She missed four shots from long range, including one at the buzzer. Still, Braun put on a show in the second half with her shooting and still finished with 27 points.

“Mara’s going to get her points,” Hamre said. “She’s just that good. … We tried to throw different things at her, and she’s just that good. She’s going to score from everywhere. And that’s why I’m excited to watch her play for the Gophers next year.”

Johnson finished tying Braun with a game-high 27 points. Miller and Craft each added 18 points, while Krzewinski had 18 points and junior Shannon Fornshell had 15 for Wayzata. Craft, who came in averaging 12.3 points per game, has 100 points across her last five games. Craft has come up clutch for the Knights all season, Hamre said.

“Goes a little bit unnoticed because everybody’s looking at Tess, they’re looking at Emma,” Hamre said. “All of a sudden, there’s Ja’kahla.”

It was a bit of a rough start for each team, with plenty of missed shots hitting off the rim, the backboard and shots that simply weren’t ending up through the netting. The Knights found their offense first, going on a 9-0 run, with six points and an assist from Johnson.

The Knights’ run was 15-2 when Wayzata took a timeout down 17-6. The breather seemed to work, and the Trojans hit some shots for a 9-0 run of their own, followed by a 7-0 run as the first half wound down. The end of that was a 3-pointer from Wayzata freshman Sophie Hawkinson with 2:45 left in the half that gave the Trojans a lead, 22-21, for the first time since early on when they led 4-2.

The second half was a bit more fast-paced and energy-packed as shots started falling, including a combined 12 shots from beyond the arc. Somewhere along the way, the scoreboard added an extra two points for Wayzata as well. The Knights noticed it, but Hamre said he loved the way his team responded to that bit of adversity in what he called a fun game to watch.

The victory felt great for the Knights, their first in overtime this season, because this was one time they made sure to finish a close game all the way until the end, Johnson said.

“I think we’re raising the bar higher for us,” Miller said. “So when sections comes around, we’ll be ready.”