PRIEST RIVER — After trailing by seven points at the half, Priest River girls basketball tried to mount a fourth-quarter comeback against North Idaho Christian on Thursday night.

Unfortunately, the Spartans ran out of time and the Royals secured a 45-41 victory.

The loss was Priest River's second to North Idaho Christian this season.

The Spartans played without senior point guard Hannah Palfrey and sophomore Abbey Shockey. Priest River missed the duo, but everyone stepped up their game to fill the void.

Sophomore Lilly Freitas scored a team-high 13 points and was relentless on defense.

"Lilly always seems to play well against this group," head coach Gary Stewart said after the game. "She really puts pressure on their guards and never stops."

Senior Samantha Pound hit double-digits as well, pouring in 10 points.

"She played like a senior tonight," Stewart said.

NIC led 38-29 after three quarters, but Priest River outscored the Royals 12-7 in the fourth quarter thanks in part to a pair of baskets from freshman Marley Burgess-Duquette, who helped the team close the gap late, Stewart said.

In total, seven of the nine players that took the court for the Spartans on Thursday scored.

Burgess-Duquette finished with five points and Makia Fitzmorris and Ally Barton each added four.

NIC also beat Priest River in the Spartan Christmas Tournament championship game on Dec. 19 52-31. The Spartans were able to scratch out one win in the three-game series with the Royals this winter. PR took down NIC 39-33 on Jan. 4.

Priest River (3-14) hosts Clark Fork at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

N.I. Christian 13 14 11 7 — 45

Priest River 8 12 9 12 — 41

NORTH IDAHO CHRISTIAN — Monaghan 0, Kelly 4, Pilgrim 8, Gwin 13, K. Malinauskas 0, Nelson 7, Overturf 13.

PRIEST RIVER — Rantala 3, Freitas 13, Pound 10, Burgess-Duquette 5, Fitzmorris 4, Thompson 0, Kingery 2, White 0, Barton 4.