HILLMAN–A big fourth quarter helped the Posen girls basketball team stay a few steps ahead of a big rival on Thursday.

Ella Szatkowski had 24 points and Makayla Kamyszek added nine for the Vikings, who outscored Hillman 23-10 in the fourth quarter to win 51-42 in Hillman in their North Star League opener.

Posen (1-1) trailed going into the fourth quarter, but got fire and pulled ahead. The Vikings helped their cause at the free throw line, sinking 15-of-22 shots in the final frame.

“Hillman’s a tough place to play and they’re a good program,” Posen coach Karl Momrik said. “It’s always nice to get a ‘W’ there and it’s a big league win for us.

Melanie Morrison had 12 points to lead Hillman (1-1), Sage Flaugher had seven and Jessica Jones had six. Hillman made just one free throw on the night and got to the line five times for eight shots.

“It was a hard-fought game and free throws killed us,” Hillman coach Jenny Taratuta said.

Faith Cousins was 7-of-10 from the line for Posen in the fourth quarter.

Hillman plays at Fairview on Monday. Posen plays at Au Gres on Monday at 6 p.m. in a varsity doubleheader.

Fairview 41, Hale 29

FAIRVIEW–Katelyn Bowers and Jessie Ross each had 12 points for Fairview (2-0), who led 19-14 at halftime and saw an uptick in offense coming off an opener where it scored just 15 points in a win. Fairview plays Hillman on Monday.