Eight straight turnovers doom PHS

DIXON — Eight straight turnovers was more than enough to doom the Princeton Tigresses basketball team Tuesday night.

Princeton started strong and had a seven-point lead early in the second half, only to see late-game turnovers come back to haunt it in a 37-31 nonconference loss to the Dixon Duchesses.

"You can't have eight straight turnovers when the game's on the line," Princeton coach Matt Huber said. "That's been our story all year. I was very happy with the beginning, but very upset with the end."

The Tigresses (14-13) jumped in front 6-0 and did not trail until Dixon (13-12) went up 17-16 with 3:07 left in the first half. Princeton immediately regained the edge and led until early in the fourth quarter.

Leading 26-19 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, things began to slip away for the Tigers. The Duchesses went ahead with a 10-1 tear that gave them a 29-27 lead with 6:13 remaining.

Dixon, which was coming off its first win over Sterling since 2003 on Monday, took the lead for good when Becca Hendley's free throws with 5:18 to play made it 31-29. The Duchesses put the game away from the free-throw line.

Princeton's Jasmine Kunkel scored 12 of her team-high 15 points in the first half. She was saddled with foul trouble for much of the night, scarcely playing in the third quarter. Teammate Kaitlyn Gorman tossed in six points, all in the first half.

Dixon got 15 points from Catie Cox and 13 from Brooke Bailey.

"I saw some good signs tonight, but they were overshadowed by our turnovers," Huber said.

• The Tigresses return home Thursday to wrap up the regular season against St. Bede. PHS will host the 2A regional beginning Monday, squaring off against Mendota at 6 p.m.