BROWNSTOWN— Brownstown Central’s girls basketball team successfully dug its way out of an early hole but couldn’t make its comeback hold as Providence escaped with a narrow 44-40 victory on Tuesday night.

The Pioneers opened the contest red hot, making their first five shots and jumping to a commanding 12-2 lead.

Brownstown slowly chipped away at the deficit and finally caught Providence midway through the third quarter.

A slugfest of a fourth quarter broke the Pioneers’ way when, leading 42-40 with just 15 seconds on the clock, a much-needed rebound on a missed free throw eluded Brownstown’s grasp and handed the ball back to the visitors.

Providence padded its lead with two more free throws, building a two-possession advantage at 44-40 and sealing the victory.

The loss, BC’s third in its last four games, moved the Braves to 9-3 on the season. Meanwhile, Providence won its third consecutive game and improved to 7-6.

Mallory Klosterman led Brownstown with 11 points, nine of which came on 3-pointers. Harley Toppe and Kinzee Dean followed with eight points each. Kelsey Schneider added six points for the Braves.

Sophie Wischmeier grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for BC.

Providence was paced by freshman Jayda Kempf’s 18 points. Avery Smith also ended with double figures, scoring 14.

Kempf was the catalyst for the Pioneers’ first-quarter surge, making her first four shots. Three of those attempts were from 3-point range and helped build a 10-point lead.

A Livy Theobald layup 15 seconds into the second quarter gave Providence its largest lead of the game at 21-9.

Toppe provided a spark for Brownstown, scoring on a layup and a 3-pointer to cut the Pioneers’ lead to 23-18 with 3:25 left in the second quarter.

Later, five different Braves scored during a 10-2 run that gave BC its first lead at 28-27 with five minutes to go in the third period.

Mallory Klosterman, Toppe, Jenna Klosterman, Dean and Wischmeier all contributed to the run for Brownstown, igniting a back-and-forth struggle over the final 12 minutes.

Down the stretch, the game saw four ties and six lead changes. Brownstown looked like it had taken control when Dean hit a turnaround in the lane and Mallory Klosterman sank a 3-pointer from the right side, giving BC a 40-37 lead with just 3 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately for the Braves, they would be held scoreless the rest of the way.

Providence’s Addison Smith made a layup, which was followed by consecutive BC turnovers. Avery Smith dropped in a layup that gave the Pioneers a 41-40 lead with 50 seconds left.

A Brownstown missed shot gave the ball back to Providence, and Kempf took care of the rest with free throws.

The Braves will try to regroup with a week off before taking part in the two-day Eastern Greene Tournament. BC takes on Owen Valley in its first pool play contest on Dec. 28.

Providence 44, Brownstown Central 40

Providence (7-6);19;6;6;13;—;44

Brownstown (9-3);9;11;11;9;—;40

Providence (7-6): Jayda Kempf 5 5-6 18, Avery Smith 6 2-2 14, Livy Theobald 2 1-1 5, Addison Smith 1 3-6 5, Kamden Pierce 1 0-0 2, Kaia Kailer 0 0-0 0, Molly Richards 0 0-0 0, Totals 15 11-15 44.

Brownstown Central (9-3): Mallory Klosterman 4 0-0 11, Harley Toppe 3 0-0 8, Kinzee Dean 4 0-0 8, Kelsey Schneider 3 0-0 6, Jenna Klosterman 1 2-2 4, Addison Darlage 1 0-0 2, Sophie Wischmeier 0 1-2 1, Hailey Hobson 0 0-2 0, Totals 16 3-6 40.

3-point goals: Providence 3 (Kempf 3), Brownstown 5 (M. Klosterman 3, Toppe 2)

Rebounds: Providence 23 (Avery Smith), Brownstown 35 (Wischmeier 11)

Turnovers: Providence 13, Brownstown 11

Fouls: Providence 8, Brownstown 15

Junior Varsity

Brownstown Central 30, Providence 20

Brownstown Central (7-5): Claire Brock 15, Lyla Huffman 6, Hailey Hobson 4, Hunter Trueblood 3, Kassie Helton 2.