A third-quarter surge wasn’t enough for the girls varsity basketball team last night against Northview, as FHC fell 47-40 and gave the Wildcats the outright conference title in the OK White.

The Lady Rangers had one of their worst starts of the season this game, putting up just 4 points in the first eight minutes. While both squads struggled offensively in the opening quarter, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 scoring run in the final minute to lead 13-4 after the first.

Freshman Theryn Hallock, the leading scorer with 18 points last night, posted 7 in the second quarter to give FHC some life. Northview junior guard Kourtney Baker, however, was hot from behind the arc and sunk three-pointers on back-to-back possession to halt any of the Rangers’ momentum. FHC shot around 20% accuracy in the half and coughed up 11 turnovers to trail Northview 25-14 at the break.

After allowing Northview an easy bucket to start the third, FHC looked like an entirely new team out of halftime. The Rangers put up 10 unanswered points capped off by a three-pointer from freshman Remmie Ingraham to bring the Wildcats’ lead to just 27-24. A made shot from senior Claire Baguley at the buzzer put the Rangers just 2 points behind, 34-32, heading into the fourth quarter.

Northview went on a 9-2 run to start the fourth quarter, but Theryn kept FHC in it with multiple steals at half court; she ended with a team-high 5 on the night. Down 45-40 with 15 seconds left, FHC turned the ball over and was forced to foul to stop the clock. Northview senior guard Sha’kyia Parker sunk both free throws on the bonus, and the Wildcats walked away with the 7-point win.

Claire was dominant in the second half to help lead the comeback, as she had 6 of her team-high 8 rebounds, all 3 of her team-high assists, and 10 of her 12 points in the last two quarters. Remmie also played a solid game with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals.

FHC moves to 10-5 (5-3) on the season and will need to have a short memory after this game, as the Rangers head to Lowell on Wednesday and Cedar Springs on Thursday. Winning out will be key for the team, as four more conference wins to finish up the season would likely put the Rangers in second place in the OK White behind Northview.