Turnovers and a failure to convert good shot attempts spelled doom for the Scotland High School girls' basketball team on Wednesday against the visiting Seventy-First Falcons as the Scots went down 62-54.

21 points and a scrappy defensive effort from senior guard Megan Brigman were not enough to overcome a third quarter during which the Scots were outscored 25-8 by their opponents from Fayetteville.

Scotland head coach David Johnson pointed to the 28 turnovers committed by Scotland as a major reason for the loss, along with bad shooting.

"We had good shots, we attacked the basket, but we just couldn't finish. It was like there was a lid on the rim," he said.

The Scots ability to challenge the Falcons defensively was hampered when Shayla McEachern, called a "defensive catalyst" by Johnson, fouled out with time remaining in the third quarter.

"She really helps us put pressure on the guards. We had to improvise some when she went out -- that's why I tell the bench to always be ready," Johnson commented following the game.

Scotland ended the half with a 9-2 run, sparked by Brigman's opportunistic play on defense, and led 32-21 going into the break.

The Scots began giving the lead back immediately after coming out of the half-time huddle, and with 2:17 to go in the third quarter found themselves down for good at 37-34.

Scotland did manage to trim the Seventy-First lead to two, at 50-48, with five minutes remaining in the game, but they lacked the energy to overcome the deficit and the Falcon pressure down the stretch.

The game was the second for Scotland in as many nights, and as a result the Scots were clearly fatigued throughout the game. Tired legs likely added to the Scotland's struggles breaking the relentless pressure applied by the Falcons.

Inbounding the ball was a particularly difficult challenge for the Lady Scots as the game wore on.

"This was the first time (we played on back-to-back nights) since the Christmas tournament ... and we didn't have a lot of lift on our shots," added Johnson of the team's battle with fatigue.

Scotland was looking to return the favor against Seventy-First after losing to the Falcons by a score of 67-60 on Jan. 6, the night former Seventy-First and UNC women's basketball star LaToya Pringle's jersey was retired.

Jasmin Amos scored 9 for Scotland, as the team's second leading scorer.

With the loss the Scots fall to 16-5 (9-4 in the M-SEC). Scotland will close out the regular season in Laurinburg on Friday against Jack Britt at 6 p.m.