MANCHESTER – They might have been the longest eight minutes of Mike Wenners’ life; they were perhaps also the most pridefilled and validating.

It took a seemingly never-ending quarter of basketball to seal one of Wenners’ best victories. The Central High head coach watched as his squad handed Timberlane its first loss of the year, knocking out the top seed in this year’s Class L girls basketball tournament.

The Little Green were cheered to the final four by hundreds of Central fans at Southern New Hampshire University on Sunday, March 4. Central put on a show in the first of four quarterfinal games, beating the Owls, 56-51.

“It was excruciating,” said Wenners of the fourth quarter. “Especially when someone gets hurt, someone else fouls out. You just want the clock to move. It was so long waiting for that final buzzer to blow.”

Trailing at halftime, 27-22, the Little Green showed focus in the first minutes of the third quarter, causing turnovers on defense and converting Timberlane’s miscues into points for a 41-36 lead heading into the final frame. Central junior Alicia Doucet led Central with 11 first-half points before senior Whitney Fremeau got hot, scoring 13 of her 17 points in the second half.

“You’re always led by your seniors,” said Wenners. “And Whitney’s not a bad one to lead you. We played a much more zonedgame this time around, Timberlane’s so strong in different areas, you have to pick your poison.”

Central strung together an 8- 0 run while shaving more than three minutes off the fourth-quarter clock. Freshmen guards Christiana Bakolas and Hooksett’s Sam Walker combined for 14 points before Bakolas fouled out in the final two minutes and Walker went down with a back injury late in the period.

Central, which came into the matchup seeded eighth, opened the first quarter with a 7-1 lead. The back-and-forth battle contin ued as Timberlane took an advantage before intermission.

Standing outside his locker room, Wenners was congratulated by Central boys coach Dave “Doc” Wheeler, who said he was glad he was in the stands instead of coaching the nailbiter.

Now the two coaches will have to figure out a schedule to share Central’s gym while both squads practice for their respective playoff-pairings, a “welcomed problem,” according to Wenners.

“There were nine or 10 teams that could take it this year,” said Wenners. “It’s not like years past where someone is far in front of the pack. You could call this an upset, but whoever we face next, it might be just as tight.”

Central was scheduled to face Bishop Guertin in the semifinals on Wednesday, March 7.