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VICKSBURG — Senior Allie Connor’s half-court shot bounced off the rim at the buzzer as host Vicksburg held on for a 20-17 Wolverine Conference girls basketball victory Wednesday night.

The loss was heartbreaking for the Chieftains, who were playing for the second time in three days. Dowagiac Coach Jason Turner felt his team had played well enough to pull out the victory.

“Girls played really hard tonight,” he said. “We improved tremendously from our first game of the year. We rebounded and got back on defense great. If just a few shots or a few free throws fall for us, we walk out of Vicksburg with the upset win. [I am] very proud of how the girls played as a team. Now, we just need to take that into tomorrow’s [Thursday] game against Benton Harbor.”

The Chieftains (0-2, 0-1 Wolverine) led 4-2 after one quarter, but were outscored 11-5 over the next three quarters as the Bulldogs (1-0, 1-0 Wolverine) opened a 13-9 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of play.

Dowagiac outscored Vicksburg 8-7 in the fourth quarter, but came up just short in its upset bid.

Allie Connor led the Chieftains with six points. Sarah Allen and Calley Ruff scored four and three points, respectively.

Hannah Vallier led the Bulldogs with nine points.