DUNKIRK — The seniors on Dunkirk’s girls basketball team are among the most accomplished the school has ever seen.

On Saturday, they added to their list of accolades.

The Marauders clinched the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Division 1 West title with an 84-46 victory over Olean to secure the program’s first league title since 1991; seniors Jessica Beehler, Amari Carter, Kymie Nance, Olivia Smith and Katilyn Davis were honored before the opening tip; at halftime Nance was presented a commemorative ball in recognition of her reaching the career 1,000-point milestone earlier this season; and Smith signed her letter of intent to attend Niagara County Community College next season.

“I don’t think there has ever been a more decorated day in the history here,” Dunkirk head coach Ken Ricker said. “So much happened at once.”

But there was also a game to be played, with plenty of intrigue attached to it. Not only was the league title within reach for the Marauders, but so was one more accomplishment. Nadara Odell began the game just 22 points shy of 1,000 points in her career. Like her teammate Nance, Odell wanted her own 1,000-point celebration.

“I was thinking we just need to push through it all,” said Odell referencing the challenge of playing with so much surrounding the game. “We just needed to keep running past everybody and keep playing great defense.”

At halftime, Odell had 16 points to lead all scorers. She had 10 points in a 25-15 Dunkirk first quarter and added six more in the second quarter. Dunkirk led 44-24 at the break, which sent all eyes toward the countdown for Odell, which was chronicled by Ricker’s daughter, Annika, who raised signs made by Ricker’s Jamestown students to signal how many points were left to be scored until the mark was reached.

Minutes after Nance was honored for her feat, Odell stepped to the line with 1:11 to go in the third quarter to shoot a pair of free throws. She needed just one point to reach the mark. She knocked down the first, which sent the gym into a roaring celebration.

“I was a little nervous when it got so close,” said Odell, who missed a few opportunities to hit 1,000 in the third quarter before finally cashing in from the line. “I didn’t want to miss any, and I did, but that’s OK. I was just hoping my teammates could push through that and keep getting it to me.”

Odell credits Nance for inspiring her to reach the same scoring milestone.

“When she hit her 1,000, it really pushed me to keep going so I could reach my 1,000, too,” Odell said.

From then on, Dunkirk (17-1, 9-1) capped the third quarter with a 3-pointer by Nance. In the fourth quarter, Dunkirk outscored Olean (3-15, 1-10) 14-0 over the first five minutes. Then, Ricker called all five seniors off the floor to receive one last ovation from the crowd.

Olean’s bench, namely head coach Chelsea Bowker, didn’t react too well to the decision. Because Dunkirk only had nine active players, with Kaitlyn Davis unable to dress for the game, the Marauders chose to play with four players on the court, the only nonseniors on the roster. Ricker cited his desire to not get anyone hurt in the final minutes of a blowout, in addition to honoring the senior starters, as reasoning for the decision. Bowker screamed for a technical on Dunkirk and protested throughout the ensuing moments. Olean took a shot clock violation on the next possession.

Dunkirk eighth-grader Molly Dicara, who had zero points listed online prior to the game in her young varsity career, then drilled a 3-pointer that left her senior teammates chanting, “Molly! Molly!” from the bench. After Bowker and Ricker exchanged words multiple times throughout the final three minutes, referees brought the two coaches together and decided to call the game with 1:50 remaining on the clock, sealing the Dunkirk victory. Olean did not score a point in the final period.

Odell finished with 30 points to lead all scorers. Nance added 24, while Smith hit six 3-pointers for 18 points. Beehler added 9 points while Dicara’s 3-pointer closed the scoring.

“This shows that anybody can do it,” said Odell of all of her team’s accomplishments on Saturday.

“They put in a lot of work,” added Ricker. “They took a lot of lumps earlier in their career, but they’ve really worked hard. … There is a lot of resiliency in that class, there is a lot of character, and it’s nice to see them reap the benefits.”

Olean got 13 points from Norah Sweitzer, 11 points from Anayah Parks-Barker and 10 points from Hayliegh Federowicz.

Dunkirk travels to Olean on Tuesday and closes the regular season Wednesday against Allegany-Limestone.

“I always just wanted to put the girls in a position to succeed long-term, and they’re all getting there, that’s for sure,” Ricker said. “I’ll be driving by the school 10 years from now and I’ll tell my wife we have to go by the school to see those numbers up there and remember those special kids.”