The Kingston Buccaneers girls basketball team pulled out a close win against the Klahowya Eagles 59-54 at home Nov. 28 to start the season 1-0.

“It was really intense because the score was so close,” Kingston Buccaneer Taizah Franklin said. “But I knew for sure we had it because we talked about it before the game. We were like, no matter what, the score gets close, just keep going at it.”

The Bucs found offensive sparks early, with Malia Edwards and Franklin scoring the first points off breakaway layups, giving Kingston a 5-4 lead to start the first quarter.

Taiyah Fontes-Lawrence and Shauni Cordero of Kingston both sank three-pointers, allowing the Bucs to jump out to a 22-16 lead at the end of the first.

Franklin landed a block at the beginning of the second quarter, and the Eagles began committing multiple turnovers in Kingston territory, allowing the Bucs to generate easy shot attempts. However, Klahowya began to claw its way back after an offensive scoring drought from the Bucs, eventually tying the game up at 24 apiece with 6:50 remaining in the second.

Fontes-Lawrence hit a three-pointer to give the Bucs the lead at 30-27, but the Eagles responded with one of their own, tying the game up once again at 30 apiece. Franklin and Aliana Chiquiti responded by scoring on back-to-back offensive possessions, giving the Bucs a 34-31 lead at halftime.

Franklin added to Kingston’s lead in the third quarter early with two free throws and a layup within the first minute of play, giving the Bucs their largest lead of the game at 39-31. Franklin continued her strong quarter, blocking a shot late in the third and driving down for an easy layup, allowing Kingston to carry their lead into the fourth quarter at 49-42.

The Bucs maintained their second-half strategy of using a full-court press to mitigate Eagle scoring opportunities, allowing Kingston to go on a 9-4 scoring run to kick off the fourth.

Kingston continued to control the floor for the majority of the fourth, limiting the Eagles to only six points scored by the 2:35 mark in the fourth.

Miali Edwards sealed the deal for the Bucs, forcing a late turnover and scoring a breakaway layup, securing the win.

“We got our chemistry way better in the second half because we hadn’t played a game yet, so it’s just like we needed a warm-up in the first half; the second half felt more comfortable,” Franklin said.