Portage Central’s Jessica Dornoff halted the comeback attempt made Tuesday by the Niles girls basketball team.

Dornoff scored five of her 13 points in the final :33 as the Mustangs held off the Vikings, 50-43, in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West Division action.

“(Dornoff) really played well,” said Portage Central coach Matt Tabor, whose team improved to 3-11 overall and 3-5 in the West Division. “She always finds a way to contribute down the stretch in key situations and be at the right place at the right time.”

Dornoff’s offensive rebound and basket after she missed the second of two free throws gave the Mustangs a 48-41 lead with :28 left.

“That killed us,” said Niles coach Pat Touhey about that play. “We didn’t sustain a block out. That’s a critical basket. We lost focus.”

The Vikings, which trailed 43-28 with 1:25 left in the third quarter, pulled within 45-41 after getting a 3-pointer from Maureen Craig with 3:55 remaining in the game. That was Niles’ last field goal as the Vikings missed their final four shots in the game.

“I thought our kids played with heart and played hard,” Touhey said. “But, what I was disappointed in was that we got down on ourselves when we missed shots or threw the ball away. I told them in the locker room (after the game) that when you’re in that kind of state you can’t perform at your best. There was still plenty of basketball to be played. If you let those plays go and get back on defense and play the next offensive possession with some energy you start making some shots, instead of missing shots. I think towards the end we were so in the moment of the making the comeback that our energy was very high and we kept going at it and fighting.”

Sparking the Niles rally was Craig, who finished with 23 points, including five 3-pointers. Craig’s first 3-pointer in the fourth quarter pulled the Vikings within 45-38 with 5:30 left in the game.

“(Craig) was hounded the whole game,” Touhey said. “She’s been dealing with that all year long. She really fought hard tonight to get shots. Some of the shots she made tonight were unbelievable.”

Taylor Brandstatter added 12 points for Niles, which fell to 3-12 overall and 1-7 in the West Division. The Vikings outrebounded the Mustangs, 35-27, with Lashonda Greene leading the way for Niles with 13 boards.

“Taylor Brandstatter did a lot of good things tonight,” Touhey said.

Hot shooting at the start helped Portage Central jump out to a 17-10 first quarter lead. The Mustangs finished with seven 3-pointers with four of those 3’s coming in the first quarter from four different players.

“(Portage Central) shot very well from the 3-point mark tonight,” Touhey said. “When you look at their games they’re not that strong of a 3-point shooting team. We didn’t expect that from them. That hurt us when you look at those 3’s. That was the difference in the game.”

Reinie Thomas, who made two 3-pointers, scored 20 points to lead Portage Central.

The Mustangs had more offensive possessions because of Viking turnovers. Niles, which is averaging 25 turnovers a game, turned the ball over 28 times.

“We’ve been dealing with turnovers all year long,” Touhey said.

PORTAGE CENTRAL 50

Jessica Dornoff 4 4-8 13, Lea Foerster 1 0-1 2, Sarah Casanto 1 0-0 3, Erika Pueblo 0 0-0 0, Reinie Thomas 5 8-9 20, Kristy Wilkinson 1 0-0 2, Taylor Snyder 1 0-0 3, Katy Wyman 2 1-2 7, Abby Housler 0 0-0 0, Robin Moore 0 0-0 0, Mia Webber 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 15 13-20 50

NILES 43

Alexis Arnold 1 0-2 3, Lashonda Greene 1 0-1 2, Michelle Briand 1 1-4 3, Maureen Craig 6 6-8 23, Taylor Brandstatter 3 5-8 12, Kylee Myer 0 0-0 0, Anna Sikkink 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 12 12-23 43

Portage 17 29 43 50

Niles 10 23 33 43

3-point baskets: Portage 7 (Thomas 2, Wyman 2, Dornoff, Casanto, Snyder), Niles 7 (Craig 5, Arnold, Brandstatter). Total fouls (fouled out): Portage 22 (Casanto), Niles 17 (none). Shooting: Portage 15-of-50 for 30-percent, Niles 12-of-41 for 29-percent. Rebounding: Portage 27 (Dornoff 7), Niles 35 (Greene 13). Turnovers: Portage 15, Niles 28. Varsity records: Portage 3-11, 3-5 SMAC West; Niles 3-12, 1-7 SMAC West. J.V. score: Portage Central 32, Niles 27