LIBERTY — Despite the weather taking a toll on sports last week, Liberty was able to host Port Jervis on Thursday afternoon. Despite a strong three quarters, Liberty was unable to close the door on the win as Port Jervis netted 18 points in the fourth to win 36-31.

Port Jervis opened the game by scoring the first three points, using a mid-range jumper and a free throw to build the early lead.

Liberty’s Destiny Loyce, who finished with a team-high 21 points, responded quickly with an equalizing trey to even up the score.

Port Jervis took the lead back at 5-3, but a 7-0 run for the Lady RedHawks made it 10-5. Port Jervis ended the first quarter on a 4-1 run, and trailed Liberty 11-9 after the first frame.

The back and forth game continued, rife with turnovers and tough defense as both teams fought to put points on the board.

In the second quarter, Liberty put up twice as many points as Port Jervis, outscoring the Raiders 8-4 in the quarter and taking a six-point lead into the half.

Although Port Jervis trailed for most of the night, they stayed within striking distance of Liberty throughout the game.

In the third quarter, defense prevailed as the two teams combined for just nine points of offense, with Port Jervis outscoring Liberty 5-4 and cutting the RedHawks’ lead to 23-18 heading into the fourth.

In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Port Jervis managed a quick bucket in their half-court offense and then forced a turnover and scored in transition to cut the Liberty lead to just one point.

After a free throw, Port Jervis tied the game at 23 apiece before Loyce knocked down two from the charity stripe to increase the lead back to two.

The two teams exchanged blows throughout the quarter, with Port Jervis taking the lead thanks to Anna Figueroa, who netted 13 of her game-high 22 points in the fourth.

With just two minutes to play, a Liberty player fouled out and was assessed a technical foul with the game tied at 28.

Figueroa sank four consecutive free throws and then Port Jervis scored on the ensuing inbounds play. The six-point swing in favor of the Raiders sealed the victory, despite some late free throw conversions by Loyce, who scored all eight of Liberty’s points in the final quarter.

Despite getting within three points late in the game, Port Jervis was able to sink two free throws to seal the 36-31 victory.

“My girls played hard,” Liberty Coach Tim Johnson said. “Turnovers and late fouls at the end of the game hurt us. We’re a young team and we’re getting better at the fundamentals, but we have to learn how to finish games.”

The Lady RedHawks were set to compete in Livingston Manor over the weekend, but after a snow day on Friday, the first round of the tournament was moved to Saturday and Liberty lost 58-31 to Tri-Valley.

They will take on Livingston Manor on February 17 at 12 p.m. for the tournament consolation.