ANSONIA — The Arcanum Lady Trojans were up for their third win of the season against the Ansonia Tigers in Thursday’s conference basketball game.

While the two teams scratched out the first quarter in a neck-and-neck battle, the Tigers fell short in the second and gave up a eight-point lead, which led to their downfall.

Early in the game, Arcanum and Ansonia were tied at 4-4. Allison Phillippi popped in a trey, but Arcanum’s Abbey O’Donnell fired back with two. Monica Stover put up two more for her Tigers, but Morgan Buck came back with another two for her Trojans.

One minute left in the first quarter, Arcanum only led by a point. But a buzzer shot from Arcanum’s Buck gave the Trojans momentum going into the second.

Despite the early lead, Arcanum expected a larger lead beforehand.

“We weren’t finishing inside, and definitely when you go up against Ansonia that was our game plan, to pound it inside,” Arcanum girls basketball coach Rachel Fearon said.

The game fell apart for the Tigers when Arcanum outscored them by five points in the second quarter to extend its lead to eight-points.

“We watched film on them earlier, and I said all we have to do is play defense and box out. And we did not do either one,” Ansonia girls basketball coach Amber Short said. “They were scrappy. They played hard. They came ready to play and we did not.

During the last game against Arcanum, Ansonia ended losing by eight in another close one.

The third quarter began with a seven-point run from Arcanum. But Ansonia wasn’t laying down: the Tigers fired back with their own seven-point streak directly after.

“I wasn’t too happy in the third quarter, but I guess when we can answer with a seven-point swing then I can be kind of happy,” Fearon said.

Arcanum popped another basket in at the last second and found itself ahead by ten going into the final quarter.

Ansonia scored 15 points in the fourth, which was more than it scored in the first half. But Arcanum was right with them 14 of its own.

And despite the late game shooting at the free throw line, neither team showed accuracy above 60 percent. Ansonia was six for 12 on the line, while Arcanum was just a shade better at 13 of 22 for free throws.

Abbey O’Donnell led the Trojans with 18 points. Fischer scored 12 for the Tigers, while Phillippi was right behind with 11 of her won.