MUSKEGON TWP.. – The Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team beat Byron Center in a two-point thriller the first time the teams met this season, so Tuesday's rematch was bound to be another cliff-hanger.
The difference this time is that the Rockets came up a little bit short, falling 41-36 in overtime, despite posting a nice second-half comeback that erased a 10-point deficit and forced the extra period.
R-P was not terribly competitive early, scoring only nine points in the first half, and trailed by six at halftime. 
R-P's Chloe Brainard looks for a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets kept battling, however, and that was the part that R-P head coach Rodney Walker was happy to see.
“They fought until the end tonight, for sure," Coach Walker said. "We didn’t give up at all. Going down, then tying it up and taking it into overtime, I think that was a great job by us.
“I thought we did a good job in the second half settling down and running our offense."
Reeths-Puffer, which lost its fifth straight game, fell to 5-13 overall on the season and 3-5 in O-K Green conference play.
R-P's Raquel Walker gets ready to dribble past an opponent. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Bryon Center claimed its first victory of the season. The Bulldogs are now 1-17 overall and 1-7 in the conference.
The first quarter was sluggish for both teams, who combined to score just seven points. Grace Tindall knocked down a corner three for Reeths-Puffer, and the Bulldogs had an answer when Alicia Morris nailed a triple of her own. R-P led 4-3 at the first buzzer.
Bryon Center started to find some offense late in the second quarter when Madisyn Meissner hit a 24-footer to put the Bulldogs up 11-6. They added a midrange bucket and a few free throws down the stretch and led 15-9 at halftime.
R-P's Jazz Kops goes in for a layup. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Bryon Center hit a pair of quick baskets to start the third quarter and led 19-9, then the Rockets regrouped and created more offense.
R-P's Raquel Walker shifted the momentum when she drove into the paint for a layup, drew a foul and hit a free throw. Savannah Lockwood added a pair of three-pointers, then Jenna Terpstra nailed a layup with 18 seconds left, pulling Reeths-Puffer within three points, 26-23, heading into the fourth quarter.
R-P trailed by one point with six minutes left, then Terpstra hit another bucket to give the Rockets the lead. Trinity Moore added a three-pointer, putting R-P up 30-26.
Bryon Center responded with three unanswered baskets to take a 32-30 lead with just under a minute and a half to play.
R-P's Trinity Moore tries to get a shot off. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Walker hit a layup with 39 seconds remaining, but missed the subsequent free throw, and regulation ended with the score tied 32-32.
R-P put up the first points in overtime, but was outscored 9-4 in the period.
“We're going to go back and watch some film, see some of the things we did well and some of the things we didn’t do too well,” Coach Walker said. “I think one of the things we don’t do well is we didn’t take care of the ball. We had a lot of turnovers.”
Walker finished with nine points while Tindall and Lockwood each totaled six for the Rockets.