For the second game in a row, the Person girls’ basketball team hung tough through three quarters before faltering in the final period in their 57-38 Piedmont Athletic Conference loss to the Riverside Pirates Friday night at Rocket Gymnasium.

The contest was deadlocked at 14 after one period, and the Rockets found themselves trailing by just six (24-18) at the half.

Rocket head coach Melinda Goodson liked her team’s first-half effort.

“We definitely played well defensively and offensively in the first half, but when the fourth quarter came, we just couldn’t overcome their full-court pressure,” she said.

Nickgail Fuller was Person’s top scorer with 15 points. Danielle Lunsford poured in 10, and Ebonee Taylor finished with eight.

Tiffany Evans was the high scorer for Riverside with 14 points.

The Rockets fell to 0-10 in conference play and 3-16 overall with the loss.

On Wednesday, the Rockets fell behind by a huge 37-14 margin after the first half and couldn’t recover as they were beaten, 54-33, in a non-conference game at Southern Alamance.

“We were never in the game at all,” Goodson said. “They were great shooters and they jumped on us right away.”

No Person player made double figures in scoring. Tori Whitfield led the way for the Rockets with seven points, while Destiny Poteat and Akira Sampson finished with six each.

It will only get tougher for the Rockets, who go up against Northern Durham, which is battling for the conference lead with Hillside, in Durham on Tuesday night.