POULSBO — The Port Townsend girls basketball team’s struggles at the free throw line came back to haunt them Thursday night.
The Redskins saw a fourth quarter lead slip away at North Kitsap, falling 52-44 in Olympic League action.
Port Townsend hit just 14 of 32 free throws as a 17-14 first quarter edge eventually gave way to their second league loss of the season.
“Kiley [Maag] had a good shooting night, but we didn’t finish,” Port Townsend coach Randy Maag said. “We kind of let it slip through our fingers tonight. We just need to put 32 minutes together. For flashes we look really solid.”
Kiley Maag led all scorers with 15 on the night and had 10 rebounds. Irina Lyons chipped in with 14.
Port Townsend (1-2 in league, 2-2 overall) didn’t get any scoring from its bench, however, and struggled to rebound against the more physical Vikings.
“They just got a lot of second-chance points and made their free throws, that’s the difference right there,” Randy Maag said. “We are getting beat up a little inside, that’s going to be an issue I think.
“We have the height, they are just more physical than we are. They are pushing us around a little bit. We’re just going to have to get a little bit tougher.”
Port Townsend has the weekend off before beginning a brutal week with a game at Port Angeles on Monday.
The Redskins will also play Olympic League favorite Kingston (Wednesday) and Olympic (Friday) during the week.
North Kitsap 52, Port Townsend 44
Port Townsend 17 9 9 9 — 44
North Kitsap 14 14 11 13 — 52
Individual Scoring
Port Townsend (44)
Johnson 6, Maag 15, Lyons 14, Hossack 4, Hallinan 5.
North Kitsap (52)
L. Baugh 4, Cardoza 4, Brown 6, R. Baugh 12, Snyder 2, Bray 4, Nold 2, Williams 8, Simmons 10.
