MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP – You don’t have to play perfect to win a big basketball game. Determination can make up for a lot of errors.

But it certainly helps if you can make your free throws.

The Spring Lake girls basketball team played a sloppy but extremely determined game on Tuesday in a regional semifinal matchup against one-loss Newaygo, last year’s Division 2 state runner-up.

But the Lakers only made 11 of 24 free throw attempts, and ended up falling 44-42 to the Lions in a dramatic game that came down to the wire at Orchard View High School.

Newaygo had Spring Lake on the ropes at several points during the game, but the Lakers never quit until the final buzzer put an end to things.

The Lions led 38-33 with 2:42 remaining when Spring Lake’s Meah Bajt hit a layup and free throw to pull the Lakers within two.

Newaygo increased its lead to 42-37 with 32 seconds left when Spring Lake’s Jennifer Judge hit a triple to pull the Lakers with two points again.

But then Spring Lake was forced to foul, Newaygo’s Jaxi Long made two free throws with 13 seconds left, and the Lions led by four.

Spring Lake’s Nicole Schmitt hit a layup as the clock hit zero, but it only made the final score a little bit closer.

After the game, Spring Lake Coach Rich Hyde stressed how impressed he was with his team’s effort.

On a night when a lot of things went wrong – 12-for-43 shooting from the floor and 21 turnovers – the Lakers made it a war all the way to the end.

“The girls grinded it out with a great Newaygo team,” Hyde said. “This was exciting for our players. Unfortunately a possession or two made the difference, and that’s too bad, because we really thought we had a chance. The girls really thought they could win it.

“They are fighters. Very few of them touch the ball before November. We’re Spring Lake, and the kids play a lot of different things. It takes a little while for us to get some of the skill things down, but we if we play with that kind of heart we’re going to steal a few games, and we did.”

Newaygo jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, but the Lakers pulled themselves together and only trailed 10-9 at the first buzzer.

The Lions pulled ahead 20-11 in the second quarter, but Spring Lake finished the half with a 7-0 run and only trailed 20-18 at halftime.

Newaygo got hot toward the end of the third quarter and led 30-23 headed into the fourth, but again the Lakers punched back and made it close.

Judge finished with 13 points for Spring Lake, Schmitt added 10 and Bajt scored eight.

The Lakers finished the season with a 13-9 record, the best mark since Hyde returned to the bench to coach the team three years ago.

They finished second in the very tough O-K Blue conference with an 8-6 mark, and won a district championship last week.

“It was a great season for the girls,” Hyde said. ‘It was nice to get back on the winning record side of things again, and we finished second in a real tough conference.”