BAY CITY ALL SAINTS - Mar. 5, 2010 - Overrated or under-appreciated? That was the question surrounding Arenac Eastern's girls basketball team heading into Friday's Class D district championship contest with Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

Sure, the Eagles came into the game with a gaudy 20-1 record and No. 2 ranking in several Class D state polls. But Seminary, despite its more modest 12-9 mark, had had its mettle tested night in and night out in the Class B and C-heavy Tri-Valley Conference, not to mention a challenging non-league schedule that included the likes of Standish-Sterling, Gladwin and defending state champion Saginaw Nouvel.

The Eagles had only been involved in two games all season decided by fewer than 10 points, including a two-point loss to Posen.

There will be fewer doubters after Arenac Eastern proved it could make plays in the clutch, holding on for a hard-fought 54-48 victory over the Cardinals to earn a date against Deckerville in a Tuesday, Mar. 9 regional semifinal at MLS.

"We knew it would be this kind of game, with ups and downs," said AE coach Butch Beckham. "I thought we were prepared for what they threw at us. And we did what we needed to to pull it out."

Ashley Navarre, a sophomore who missed some crunch-time free throws in the Posen loss, hit 5-of-6 in the final minute, including four straight in a 10 second stretch that turned a two-point game into a six-point advantage.

"I'm kind of speechless," Navarre said. "It was a great feeling to do that. I really wanted to make those for the team."

The Eagles, who led 24-20 at halftime, held on to a slim edge for most of the second half. But after Maddie Nelson's short jumper gave AE its biggest lead at 33-26, Seminary went on a seven-point run, with Anna Schneider's 3-pointer tying it up early in the fourth quarter.

But though the pressure mounted, the Eagles stayed cool. Two Chelsea Dery baskets  and a Briana Dery hoop put AE up 39-36, and after Marjorie Buelow cut it to one with two free throws, Nelson found a cutting Taylor Jurek under the basket for an open layup.

After another Buelow free throw, Nelson hit a short jumper off a deflected pass to make it a four-point game, and from there the Eagles made it a free throw contest, hitting 7-of-10 overall in the final minutes -- enough to withstand a Schneder steal-and-score, a long 2-pointer from Tara Martinez and four more points from Buelow.

Buelow's two free throws with 42 seconds left cut the AE lead to 48-46, but Navarre's free throws sealed it.

The first half featured six lead changes and seven ties before Chelsea Dery scored the final four points of the half to give AE the lead.

Dery, still playing with her well-publicized torn ACL, scored nine of her 13 points in the second quarter and said it was this kind of game that motivated her to put off knee surgery until the end of the season.

"Oh, absolutely it's worth it," she said. "We're just going to keep working our butts off and put our hearts into every play. We know there's going to be a lot more competition. We know what's coming."

The Eagles had all seven of their varsity regulars score at least four points, led by Navarre with 14. Nelson finished with eight points, Briana Dery had six, Danielle Jurek scored five and Taylor Jurek and Erin Ecker tallied four apiece.

Beckham said the big key was the Eagles' ability to limit the Cardinals' 3-point shooting. Seminary hit four in the game, far fewer than in its 15-point semifinal victory over All Saints.

"We put a lot of pressure on them," he said. "They got a few looks, which they're going to get as well as they move the ball. But some of those looks weren't the ones they wanted.

"We needed to be at our best to beat them. And they saw some of our best today."