OGEMAW HEIGHTS - Dec. 16, 2008 - Ogemaw Heights' girls basketball team recovered from a tough second quarter to come within a hairsbreadth of beating Cadillac on Tuesday, but saw the Vikings' Emily Gussert hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to hand the Falcons a 49-48 defeat.

Still, Ogemaw coach Tim Hansen was pleased with the overall play of his team, which faces a crucial NEMC test at John Glenn on Friday.

"We played extremely well," Hansen said. "Our starting point guard went down in practice the day before the game and we had some people step up big. We out-scored them in three of the four quarters, but in the second quarter they hit us for 22."

The Falcons were outscored 22-14 in the second quarter and trailed 28-22 at the half but pulled to within 38-36 heading to the fourth quarter.

"We had our chances and made good on some," Hansen said, pointing to the Falcons' 15-of-20 performance at the free throw line. "Some of the little things are costing us. Effort and togetherness are 100 percent there, so the other things will come."

Ashley Thompson led the Falcons (2-2) with 25 points, with Rilee Palm adding 10.