tflagstad@journalnet.com

Preston senior Holly Checketts concisely summed up the feeling of coming up one game short of the state tournament.

"It just sucks," she said. "That's all."

The entire Indians team could empathize following a 50-45 loss to Rigby on Saturday in a 4A state tournament play-in game at Highland.

Down seven entering the final quarter, Preston used a harassing pressure defense to fight back and actually took a lead, but a steady stream of Trojans' free throws ultimately drowned the Indians.

Rigby made only two field goals in the final frame, but it drained 17-of-21 foul shots in the last eight minutes to hold on.

"The one thing we did do was hit foul shots," said Trojans coach Clyde Nelson. "We've talked about that all year long - that foul shots are what win and lose games. Tonight, it won it for us."

The freebies certainly did because after three quarters of running an efficient offense, Rigby folded under the pressure of Preston's defense in the fourth.

To open the final frame, the Indians went on a 9-2 run to pull within 31-29. Three of those points directly resulted off turnovers.

Preston kept chasing Rigby all over the court and eventually took a brief 41-39 lead after sophomore Kira Miller knocked down a jump shot from the right baseline.

"Being down by seven to come back and take the lead," Indians coach Ryon Pope said while choking up, "just tells you something about the kind of heart our girls have."

From that point, the teams would trade baskets, capped by Teton senior Emily Jones making two free throws to make it 48-45 with 8.6 seconds left.

After a timeout, Preston got the look it was hoping for, but sophomore Allie Kelsey misfired on a contested 3-pointer from the left baseline.

If the Indians could've converted on more of their chances in the first half, they wouldn't have had to rely on a late rally.

Preston missed at least five point-blank shots in the second quarter alone, while Rigby hit shots from all over the court to take a 22-15 lead into halftime.

"When we looked at the shot chart at halftime, we had a great combination of shots inside the key, and theirs were all from the outside," Pope said. "But ours were misses, and theirs were makes. Sometimes the game of basketball comes down to that."

Checketts led all scorers with 19 points in her final high school game, and fellow senior Marssi Daniels added seven points for Preston. The Trojans' attack was more balanced, with senior Allison Taylor leading the way with 11 points and sophomore Megan Olaveson chipping in 10 points.

Preston ended its season with a 14-11 record. Rigby (14-9) moves on to face Middleton (17-6) on Thursday in the opening round of the 4A state tournament at Mountain View High.