TURNER – It was so close that both teams could taste victory in the fourth quarter.

The winless girls’ basketball teams from Morse and Leavitt each had victory in their sights. Thanks to an edge in free throws, the Shipbuilders walked away with a 45-44 win.

“I think both teams were looking for that win,” said Leavitt coach Chris Cifelli. “They’re looking for that breakthrough. We were hoping for that, and I thought we had it.”

The Hornets (0-6) were up by as many as five points with 1:55 to play, but Leavitt couldn’t put Morse away. The Shipbuilders (1-5) rallied in the final minute with a 7-2 run to eke out the victory.

“(Leavitt) battled hard,” said Morse coach Tom Morong. “They got momentum. They smelled blood in the water. They played very composed. I was very impressed with how they played.”

Morse broke the tie with five seconds left when Sydney Perkins hit one-of-two free throws. Perkins had tied the game with 27 seconds remaining. Morse got the ball back on Leavitt’s second offensive foul call in the final 40 seconds.

The Shipbuilders had 13 seconds to find a game-winning play. Perkins was supposed to create her own shot but was fouled at midcourt by Ashley Naylor.

“We were going to let Syd go one-on-one to the basket,” said Morong. “She had it timed perfect. Just when she was ready to make that spin move a shot would have gone off with two or three seconds left. It was perfect timing on her part, and the kid fouled her.”

Leavitt had one last chance, though. As the Hornets tried to rush the ball up the court, Duncan was fouled with .04 seconds left at midcourt. Leavitt was hoping she’d get awarded three free throws for being in the act of shooting, but got a one-and-one call instead. Her first shot missed, ending the game.

“He said she was held before she actually did a basketball move,” said Cifelli. “We were saying with .04 seconds left, I didn’t think she was passing. So we were looking to get three shots out of it.”

Leavitt’s Annie Dyer led all scorers with 14 points while Brittany Gurney added nine. Perkins finished with 12 while Sara Wells had 11.

Back-to-back baskets by Duncan put the Hornets up 41-36 with 1:55 left. Though Morse trimmed the lead twice, a free throw by Lindsay Sierra and a hoop on a press breaker gave Leavitt a four-point margin twice in the final 1:23. After Wells scored on a rebound with 55 seconds remaining to cut it to 44-42, Perkins hit a pull-up jumper with 27 seconds left to tie it.

“We’re a young team, and it showed,” said Cifelli, who lost Dyer and Bethany Burgess to fouls late in the game and was also without Stephanie Healy, who was out with an ankle injury. “We haven’t been in a lot of pressure packed games in the first place. Coming down the stretch a foul shot or a basket here or there would have taken a lot of pressure off on the final free throw by Duncan. I thought she did a wonderful job in that situation.”

Leavitt was down by as many as nine in the opening quarter and scrapped its way back to take the lead late in the third quarter. Even with three starters on the bench in foul trouble to start the fourth, the Hornets held the lead for much of the final quarter.

[email protected]