PORT ALLEGANY — It’s been the story of Port Allegany’s young season.

For the third time in their first four games, the Gators were within striking distance of a quality opponent, only to come up just shy at the end.

On Friday night, Port found itself trailing Elk County Catholic early on, rallied back in the second half but then fell short, 40-37.

It marked the second time the Gators (1-3) dropped a nailbiter to ECC (6-1). Port opened its season with a 54-46 road loss to the Crusaders.

Though it’s been a tough start to the season, Port coach Jamie Evens isn’t discouraged by what he’s seeing.

“We’ll just keep working. We’ve seen a little bit of improvement every day,” he said. “We have girls in roles they aren’t used to this year, and we’ve got some younger girls we’re trying to work in. There’s not a whole lot of depth, so every little detail we have to do right. We just haven’t hit that mark yet.”

It was those little details that proved to be the Gators’ undoing.

Fueled by second-chance opportunities and Port turnovers, ECC raced out to a 14-4 lead after the first quarter. The teams traded buckets to a 4-4 draw before ECC freshman Lucy Klawuhn hit back-to-back treys to give the Crusaders a 10-4 advantage.

Tori Newton and Julia Aikens followed with layups to cap the first quarter with a 10-0 run. Of Elk Catholic’s 14 first-quarter points, six came on second- or third chances.

Of the quick start, ECC coach Ken Pistner said, “I think when you get off to a good start, it’s always a benefit, especially on the road. I told the kids before the game we needed to generate our own energy here tonight … and the girls did. They came with energy and that’s what got us off to that quick start.”

The Gators got things going in the second frame, as Evin Stauffer, who finished with a team-high 15 points, hit a layup and then a 3-pointer as part of a 10-2 Port run to open the quarter. It brought the Gators to within two, 16-14.

ECC had a counterpunch, as Klawuhn hit her third of four 3s to key an 8-2 Crusader run to end the quarter. That put Elk Catholic up 24-16 at half.

“Those were some big shots by our freshman,” Pistner said of Klawuhn, who scored 14 points.

Undeterred, Port answered in the third quarter with its own barrage of shots from deep. Jade Evens hit a pair of treys on Port’s first two possessions, and then Stauffer and Garzel each added one as the Gators rallied to knot things up at 32 heading into the fourth.

The variety in scorers during the quarter is something Evens says Port has to keep working on and developing in order to turn the tides this year.

“We need some of our other girls to step up. We look to Garzel to score, but we need to get some confidence. Evin stepped up tonight, and we need other girls to do that. Jade hit a couple of 3 in the third, too. Those are the types of things we need to work on.

“Really, it’s about confidence and making sure the girls have that confidence to step up and do that.”

Port grabbed its first lead with 4:57 to go in the final period after a pair of Garzel free throws. However, it proved to be the only advantage the Gators would hold.

For as much momentum as the Gator offense had going in the third, things went silent again in the fourth. Port was held to just five points, the other three on Garzel free throws, and the Gators didn’t connect on any field goals in the final period.

Just as it was in the first quarter, turnovers, missed opportunities and ECC offensive rebounds were the cause.

“I was talking the whole game about (turnovers and rebounds). It was the second time we played them, and they killed us on the boards in the first game, too. So that was definitely a focus, and we didn’t execute,” Evens said.

Of the turnovers, he added, “They were unforced turnovers. (ECC is) a scrappy, physical team, but I wouldn’t say they played pressure defense. We were just making some bad decisions and weak passes that we have to do a better job of.”

Even still, Port had an opportunity at the end to tie things up.

Down 40-37 with eight seconds to play, the Gators brought the ball across halfcourt and called a timeout with three seconds to go.

On the inbounds play, a pair of Port players set picks to try and free up Garzel for a final 3-pointer from the corner, but ECC’s defenders were able to fight through, double team Garzel and force a miss.

Evens pointed out that Port simply didn’t execute its play properly.

“That’s another good example of inexperience. That’s a play we run through every day at the end of practice so we’re ready for it, but we actually started running it before our inbounder had the ball,” the coach said. “So their defenders were able to recover from the picks, and we ended up with a double team on our shooter because we were too antsy to get into the play.”

For its part, ECC was prepared to defend Garzel the entire night. After the guard dropped 31 on the Crusaders in Game 1, Elk held the explosive playmaker to just 10 on Friday.

“I did a poor job of coaching when we played them at home,” Pistner said. “I saw Bree play on film a little bit, and we didn’t give her enough respect the first time. She was terrific, so we put a little more focus on her tonight. Our defense was really what won it for us.”

ECC visits St. Marys on Monday.

Port hosts Austin that night, and the Gators are eager to keep improving.

“It’s growing pains (so far) and hopefully by the end of the year, we’re making these plays or we’re not in these situations and we’re up by that point,” Evens said. “It’s a long season, and we’re just going to keep working.”

AT PORT ALLEGANY

Elk County Catholic (40)

Tori Newton 6 3-6 15, Lucy Klawuhn 4 2-2 14, Aikens 2 0-3 4, T. Geci 2 0-0 5, Bauer 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 5-11 40

Port Allegany (37)

Evin Stauffer 6 1-1 15, Bree Garzel 2 5-5 10, Budd 1 0-0 2, Evens 3 0-0 8, Causer 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 6-6 37

Elk Catholic 14 24 32 40

Port Allegany 4 16 32 37

Three-point goals: ECC 5 (Klawuhn 4, T. Geci), PA 5 (Stauffer 2, Evens 2, Garzel); Total fouls: ECC 9, PA 17; fouled out: None.