Buckfield’s Krosby Harvey drives to the hoop during a Class D South quarterfinal against Pine Tree Academy on Monday at the Augusta Civic Center. Lee Horton/Varsity Maine

AUGUSTA — The nerves began at the opening tip, perhaps a little before, and continued throughout the Class D South girls basketball quarterfinal Monday morning.

“We knew they would be nervous,” St. Dominic girls basketball coach Randy Parenteau said. “We just had to stay with them.”

They, of course, would be starting eighth-graders Kara “Juju” Farrington and Sage Yarnevich, who helped the No. 3 Saints pull away from No. 6 Temple Academy, 57-44.

Farrington finished with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, while Yarnevich had four points, two assists and a steal.

“It’s different, starting two eighth-graders, but that’s the position we are in with our numbers,” Parenteau said. “We just talked to them about staying focused, staying disciplined. We were nervous for the first half, maybe even into the fourth quarter. But then we started to do a lot more of what we do.”

What the Saints do is force turnovers with an aggressive defense and turn to their shooters to bury tough shots.

Temple led 37-32 early in the fourth quarter before Farrington and senior guard Charli Apodaca took over for St. Dom’s. Farrington made a pair of 3-pointers and Apodaca — who scored 23 points while playing all 32 minutes — forced three big turnovers.

“There were a little nerves, yes,” Farrington said. “But when we were down, I just kept thinking, ‘We need to win this game. We have to do this.’ … I knew I can shoot well. My dad always tells me, ‘Take control of the game.’ I was just thinking about that.”

Added Apodaca: “Our nerves finally wore off in the fourth quarter. For our eighth-graders, this is a big step for them. It’s a big thing to come here and play well.”

Stepping in

There are inexperienced coaches, and then there’s Jessica Yu.

“Coaching experience? None at all,” said Yu, the first-year Forest Hills girls basketball coach. “Other than coaching our kids when they were little, I don’t have any coaching experience.”

So there Yu was Saturday morning, sitting in a chair on the bench, coaching the Tigers to a 69-24 victory over Vinalhaven.

“I don’t stand on the sideline,” she said. “I don’t stand when I am coaching, unless I call a timeout. I do always wonder what people think of me when they see me not standing like all the other coaches do.”

Wu said she decided to apply for the position after Alexandra Lessard departed. Yu’s daughter, Kylie, played basketball for the Tigers before graduating last year.

“I couldn’t coach my daughter,” Yu said. “There was no way I could do that. But after she graduated, I just decided to apply for it. It was open, so why not?”

Yu added that while it’s been an adjustment, the team has helped her along the way.

“That makes a big difference,” she said.

Morgan Petrucci had a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 16 rebounds for the second-seeded Tigers (14-5). Allie Dunning led all scorers with 18 points.

For starters, a new role

Emma O’Brien did not fill out the stat sheet for the Pine Tree Academy girls basketball team Monday. The sophomore guard scored just two points and grabbed as many rebounds. She didn’t register an assist or finish with a steal.

What she did do was bring stability to the floor after getting an unexpected start in a 38-29 victory over Islesboro in a Class D South quarterfinal. O’Brien also didn’t turn the ball over in 25 minutes of action.

“Emma is normally seventh or eighth off the bench,” PTA coach Josh Dayen said, “but we are short-handed. We have a few guards who are out so she got the start. She has never started before, but she proved she was ready.”

Senior starter Dolci Marden broke her wrist snowboarding last week and Maddie Jones is out of town. That left the Breakers without much depth at guard.

“It was very different,” O’Brien said. “I was nervous but then got excited once I got into the flow. It was so cool to play here in Augusta. We’re used to playing in little gyms. This was fun.”

Chantal Mbonimpa scored 15 points and Marra Soram added 13 for Pine Tree, which will play No. 1 Valley on Thursday.

Bucks move on

Trenton Haskell, Gaven Parsons and Krosby Harvey were the only Buckfield players who scored in the first half of a Class D South quarterfinal Monday afternoon against Pine Tree Academy.

It turned out they didn’t need much help, at least not at the offensive end.

Haskell scored 13 of his 21 points in the first half, and Parsons and Harvey each added eight points before halftime as the fifth-seeded Bucks (10-9) built a 29-15 lead on their way to a 52-41 win over No. 4 Pine Tree Academy (10-9).

Parsons finished with 10 points, joining Haskell as the only players in double figures for the Bucks, who next play No. 1 Valley (19-0) on Wednesday.

Collin Verrill led Pine Tree with 11 points.