BLACKWELL, Okla. – The Alva Ladybugs and Blackwell Lady Maroons faced off for the third time in two weeks on Saturday afternoon at Blackwell Middle School. Alva took the first two games, but it was a different story in game three as the Ladybugs fell in the end, 33-32.

Alva has suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season as its record drops to 8-4 on the season. The Ladybugs look to snap their skid Tuesday night at home as they host Newkirk at 6:30 p.m.

It was a battle for both squads the entire 32 minutes of the game with 10 lead changes and three ties throughout. The Ladybugs held a five-lead in the third quarter, while the Lady Maroons only had a four-point advantage.

The biggest difference in the game was at the free-throw line. Alva was only able to get to the line three times, converting two, while the Lady Maroons were 10-for-16 in free shows, all in the second half.

Sophomore Payton Jones put the Ladybugs on top early in the first minute of play as Hallie Durkee found her behind the arc for three. Lyndi Jobe answered for the Lady Maroons with back-to-back layups before the Ladybugs took 6-4 lead on a Stephanie Spellman three.

Jones knocked down a pair of opportunities from the charity stripe to give the Ladybugs a four-point lead with a minute to go in the first, their biggest advantage of the game.

Blackwell again answered with five straight points, including a three-pointer at the buzzer for a 9-8 lead heading to the second.

With the Ladybugs trailing 11-8 early on the in the second, Rianna Clark made a nice move to drive the baseline, putting in a reverse layup for her first two points of the contest. After a three on the Blackwell end of the floor, Durkee earned her third of assist of the afternoon, finding Jones with a jumper in the paint.

With 3:21 to go, and Alva down four, Spellman continued to shoot well with another three from the wing to cut it to a one-point Blackwell lead. The Lady Maroons again went up three, but with time running out in the second, drained a three to send the game into halftime with tie at 18.

Spellman finished with three three-pointers in the first half for her nine-point game total.

Both teams struggled to get anything going on the offensive end in the second half. Blackwell scored nine points in the third, six of which came from the free-throw line.

The Ladybugs came out firing in the third as Ray Ray Bell connected with Jones for a layup, and after forcing a turnover on the other end, Spellman hit Jones for three to go up 23-18 at the 6:06 mark. Blackwell answered with a 7-0 run to retake a 25-23 lead with the help of a wide-open three from the left wing by Hadley Potts.

With 1:01 to go in the third, Alva again grabbed the lead as Durkee found Jones at the top of the key. Jones completed the play with her third three of the game. However, Madalyn Hankins converted her fifth and sixth free-throws of the quarter to give Blackwell a one-point lead heading to the final quarter.

While the third quarter was a well-played defensive battle with a total of three turnovers between the teams, the fourth was a different story. In the final eight minutes, the Ladybugs turned the ball over six times to just three by Blackwell.

Down two with 5:05 to go, the Ladybugs pulled down a defensive rebound to set up a streaking Jones for a layup to knot the game at 28. Paige Scott for the Lady Maroons gave her team another lead on the next possession.

Durkee tied the game yet again with four minutes to go with a medium range jumper along the right baseline. After a Blackwell free-throw to brake the tie, Durkee added her fourth point of the quarter with a jumper from the left elbow to give the Ladybugs a one-point lead with 1:23 to go.

Scott hit a pair of free-throws for the Lady Maroons to go up 33-32 with 1:23 remaining in the game for the final outcome. The Ladybugs had a couple of opportunities in the final 77 seconds, including a solid look at the basket as time ran out, to win the game.

Jones led the Ladybugs as the only player in double-figures with 15 points. Durkee and Clark each finished with four points in the ballgame.