Despite an unrelenting effort in a nail-biting game, Alpena ultimately fell 56-46 after a late dry spell of offensive inefficiency.

The lack of driving the ball inside and the loss of star guard Reese Wisniewski down the stretch cost Alpena the game.

“It felt like we were constantly fighting from behind and playing catch-up,” Alpena coach Laura Dubey said. “We did well for the first two quarters, but, after that, it felt like we were just answering the shot they made. It obviously hurts to lose, but I couldn’t be more proud of these girls.”

While the Wildcats entered the game as underdogs on the road, Alpena brought the energy and intensity early, ready to steal the game.

Courtesy Photo Alpena High School’s Avery Dubey, left, and Reese Wisniewski react after the Wildcats’ 56-46 loss to Traverse City Central in the district championship game on Friday in Traverse City.

Offensively, the first quarter featured two scorers, Natalie Maychen and Kiera Prue, who combined for 12 points.

Prue gained control down low, despite facing one of the best players in the Big North Conference, Lucia France.

Maychen, the Wildcats’ top guard off the bench, made two substantial three-pointers, bringing the crowd and momentum toward Alpena.

Traverse City Central relied on easy buckets wherever they could be found, but, in a credit to the Wildcats’ defense, it wasn’t very often.

Into the second quarter, the Wildcats were up 12-8, but that lead quickly disappeared.

Alpena’s back-to-back early turnovers resulted in Traverse City tying the game and turning the momentum.

The Wildcats also struggled to get the ball into Prue, deciding to settle for more three-point chances.

Faith Dragiewicz’s massive three off the glass helped keep Alpena close, and Wisniewski’s humongous three on the fastbreak helped even more.

Defensively, Alpena began to struggle.

Letting up 17 points, 12 of which were split between the Trojans’ big girls in the paint, the Wildcats were down 25-21 at halftime.

Up until that point, the scoring had been rather lackluster, but, suddenly, neither team could make a defensive stand.

Traverse City scored 16 points in the third quarter as Jakiah Brumfield, Marlie Mcgregor, and Kylie Ball each sank threes.

Alpena matched that 16 points with 16 of its own, led primarily by Wisniewski and Prue.

Again, six points came from Prue, but in that quarter, six more came from Wisniewski.

Going into the final quarter, Alpena went down four points, and, with the offense finding its footing at the end of the quarter, the team was in a spectacular spot for a comeback.

All of that stood true until a nightmare came toward Alpena.

The Wildcats’ second-leading scorer and supreme defender, Wisniewski, suddenly cramped up, barely being able to move.

Alpena went without a field goal for almost five minutes without her offensive prominence.

With the way the Wildcat’s offense is run, Wisniewski is essential, and, without her, the game ran away.

Eventually, she returned, but it was too little, too late.

Led by Mcgregor, Traverse City shut down Alpena, taking home the district title and the 56-46 win.

“I’ve coached this (senior class) of girls for a long, long time, and they put their heart and soul into this game,” Dubey said. “They knew going into this game that it would be super difficult to win, and I’m just so proud of how hard they tried and how they never let up until the buzzer. Even though we’re not hoisting that trophy, we’re a good team, and this is a great group of girls.”

Leading Alpena in scoring was Prue, who scored 15 points.

Despite cramping up in the fourth, Wisniewski was second, with 11.