They made things interesting, but the Old Rochester Regional High School girls basketball team couldn't pull off a come-from-behind playoff win versus Wareham.

After trailing by as many as 15 points late in the third quarter Wednesday night, the ninth-seeded Bulldogs squad nearly caught up to the eighth-seeded Vikings in the first round Division III South Sectional battle.

Cold shooting, poor defense and turnovers all led to the loss for ORR, as none of their players reached double-figures.

"It was one of our poorest defensive first halfs of the year," said ORR Coach Bob Hohne. "We were just flat-footed. We really didn't get after it."

A strong first three quarters saw the Vikings gradually take command, but back-to-back-to-back baskets by the Bulldogs with less than 40 seconds to play in the third cut the large lead to 31-22. ORR further trimmed the lead to as few as five in the fourth quarter after several Wareham turnovers, but the Vikings were able to hold on for the victory.

"We had all the momentum," said Hohne.

Wareham sophomore Kali Fernandes did a great job keeping one of ORR’s top scorers senior guard Kaleigh Goulart to only eight points (Goulart sat out part of the first quarter for disciplinary reasons.) Ashley Pacheco and Olivia Labbe added seven apiece for the Bulldogs.

The two teams split the season series, with ORR winning by one earlier in the year, and Wareham returning the favor in a tight, one-point win last week.

"All year long, we talked about how we win games defensively," added Hohne, "because we're challenged offensively. Hopefully that will change next year."

Still, Hohne said he commended his seniors for their efforts this year, which saw them bounce back from last year's season, where the Lady Bulldogs missed the postseason for the first time in 22 years.

"Most people didn't think we'd even make the state tournament. One of our goals was to make the tournament, and we did. There's no reason we can't be better next year."