BOWLING GREEN – The Wright City girls basketball team opened conference play Tuesday and nearly brought a close to seven years of Eastern Missouri frustrations.

Nearly.

The Wildcats, who haven’t won an EMO Conference game since the 2012-13 season, overcame a nine-point fourth quarter deficit and grabbed the lead briefly in the final minute but couldn’t escape Bowling Green victorious, succumbing 23-22 to the host Bobcats in a contest that was low on scoring but certainly not excitement.

“I told (the players) in the locker room that I was proud of their effort, but we have to learn to win games like that,” first-year Wright City Coach Dan Friedel said. “I know they have a sick feeling in their stomachs and I have a sick feeling in my stomach, so hopefully this motivates us to continue going on the right path. If we keep at it and keep getting better, we’re going to be in a lot of close ones.”

There were plenty of odd moments in this one. Neither team could by a bucket in the beginning and Wright City had zero in the opening quarter, trailing 6-0.

Bowling Green clogged the paint defensively and led 8-3 at halftime and was ahead 16-8 at the end of the third.

The Wildcats finally awoke from their offensive slumber in the fourth and found success by turning to a press on defense.

Down 20-11 Wright City went on an 11-0 run, started by a midrange jumper from senior Mercedes Wray.

Strangely enough, it wasn’t just the Wildcats contributing to their own scoring surge as a Bowling Green player grabbed a defensive rebound off a missed Wright City free throw, then scored a layup in the wrong basket for the visitors.

Wray knotted the score at 20 off an offensive board with 1:22 left and senior Kelsey Capstick worked a steal and hit a layup to give Wright City its first and only advantage at 22-20 with 57 seconds remaining.

But the lead was brief.

A basket by Bowling Green’s Kinley Charlton tied it back up and Madeline Norton, parlayed a steal into a trip to the charity stripe with the game on the line and only 6.1 seconds left.

Charlton missed her first throw but sank the second to sink the Cats, who were unable to muster a shot on their final possession.

Wray had a team-high seven points for the Wildcats. Capstick added six and Jasmin Simpson had three Emily Schanuel and Daetyn Gurley chipped in with a bucket apiece.

“We made mistakes throughout the game and I made one too,” Friedel said. “I should’ve gone to the press earlier. That’s the first time we’ve tried to run it and I was hesitant because we were in foul trouble but it worked out pretty well.”

Bowling Green improved to 2-4 on the season and won its second consecutive game after beating Silex 56-52 last week.

The Wildcats dropped to 2-1, following wins over Maplewood-Richmond Height and Northwest Academy Transportation and Law.

Next up is a matchup against Duchesne, Friedel’s alma mater, Monday at the Orchard Farm Tournament.