BAYFIELD – The “free” part of the term “free throw” can be a little misleading.

You still need to put the ball through the hoop.

The Bayfield High School girls basketball team didn’t, and it cost them against Centauri.

BHS (6-10, 1-6 Intermountain League) missed 20 free throws against the Falcons and fell 54-43 on Saturday in Bayfield.

The Falcons, on the other hand, made 18-of-32 from the charity stripe.

“I keep telling the girls, ‘free throws win or lose games,’ and unfortunately (Saturday night), with that many missed free throws it lost the game,” BHS head coach Bri Simbeck said.

Carrie Yost cut Bayfield’s deficit to nine with a jump shot with two minutes left, but Centauri made 5-of-10 free throws in the last two minutes to seal the victory.

The Wolverines spent most of the second half in comeback mode after Centauri (13-5, 4-3 IML) ripped off an 11-1 run in the third quarter.

Centauri outscored BHS 17-5 in that quarter after the game was tied at 21 at halftime.

“We got into foul trouble, and we don’t have a whole lot of depth,” Simbeck said. “The girls that went out there in the third quarter played well, but they haven’t gotten a lot of court time.”

Jaida Ross and Jessie Roukema missed most of the third quarter with three fouls. Ross scored five points and grabbed five rebounds, while Roukema scored 10 and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Ross fouled out in the fourth quarter, along with Haley Clarke and Andrea Zelinski.

Clarke led BHS with 11 points and four steals.

Centauri’s Kendra Garcia also fouled out in a game that featured 50 total fouls.

“I’m very pleased with how they responded (to the style of play),” Simbeck said. “It’s always a physical game against Centauri, but I felt like my girls held their ground and didn’t back down. That’s all I can ask for them in those types of games.”

BHS took a 13-5 lead after the first quarter after Aspen Smith nailed a 3-pointer.

The Wolverines finished the game with 12 steals and carved out that early lead primarily through their defensive intensity.

“I was very pleased with how we came out,” Simbeck said. “I wish we could have gotten some more steals instead of just tips, but the defensive intensity was definitely there (Saturday night). That’s something we’ve been lacking in the past couple games.”

BHS will finish its regular-season schedule at 5:30 p.m. Thursday against Alamosa in Bayfield.

kgrabowski@durangoherald.com