MORRIS — The Lady Hubs varsity basketball team went back-and-forth with the Morris Redskins on the road Tuesday evening, but for the fourth time in five games, the Rochelle girls fell short by just five points or less.

Rochelle outscored Morris 10-2 early in the first quarter, but the Redskins fought back to end the quarter leading 14-12 over the Lady Hubs. The see-saw battle continued throughout Tuesday’s conference crossover, and Morris emerged victorious by a final score of 58-53. Rochelle drops to 9-15 overall with the loss.

“We just need our players to focus on the little things when the pressure comes on,” head coach Tony Rowan said. “I think we’re trying to do everything at once as opposed to working piece-by-piece to come together. It starts with ball protection and making good passes… We’re trying to do too many different things when the ball is in our hands.”

Seniors Jacie Wyatt and Morgan Baker each scored 14 points to lead the Lady Hubs on Tuesday, while junior Abby Lundquist added 13 points. Rochelle trailed 30-28 at halftime before evening the game 42-42 after three quarters. Wyatt went 6-for-12 from the field with a team-high eight rebounds.

“We followed our plan defensively,” Rowan said. “We just need to be able to keep girls in front of us instead of always trying to create turnovers, because when we try to create turnovers and miss, we’re put in compromising situations… The more we can get Jacie going, the better it’s going to be for us.”

Morris outscored Rochelle 16-11 in the fourth quarter to seal its victory over the Lady Hubs. Senior Britney Salinas and junior Mya Latta combined for seven points, with Latta grabbing six rebounds. Senior Cesca Vardman scored five points and led Rochelle with three steals.

“Mya’s done a great job of progressing all season long,” Rowan said. “She’s not trying to play outside of herself. We’re asking her to rebound and play defense, and she’s done a great job of that. She focuses on what she needs to work on, and the kids gravitate to that.”