Yorkville couldn’t hold onto a double-digit lead late into the third quarter of Thursday’s Southwest Prairie Conference game against Oswego.

But what the Foxes were able to do was make free throws, especially senior Macie Jones whose swishes led the way during a 47-43 victory.

Jones made 10 of 10 free throws and scored 16 points to lead all scorers.

“It was really intense, I mean, we had a good lead and they fought back,” Jones said. “They came all the way back and we stuck together. We fought to the finish and we’re just trying to keep playing together and move forward, and I thought this was a good game for us.”

Free throws aren’t a given, but Jones made it seem that way while the Panthers failed to get their money’s worth, going to the charity stripe 29 times but making just one more than Jones.

The Foxes made 16 of 19 compared to 11 of 29.

“Last year I shot pretty well and this year that’s what I’ve tried to focus on because it’s something I can control and it’s easy free points,” Jones said. “When it’s down to the wire like this, it’s really important and luckily I made them all.”

Yorkville (6-2, 3-1) took a 34-20 lead with 4:42 left in the third quarter after junior Hayden Hodges (five points) drained a 3-pointer from the corner.

During about a 10-minute span, Oswego (4-5, 1-2) only managed a basket inside and a free throw from senior Peyton Johnson (10 points, nine rebounds), and a floater from junior Kyla Baier (five points) from 4:58 before halftime until 2:54 was left in the third quarter.

“Our second quarter was phenomenal,” Yorkville coach Kim Wensits said. “We track how many stops we get. Three in a row and we had four in the first half, none in the second half, which tells the story of why they came back.”

The Panthers got a driving layup from Ashley Cook (12 points) to begin a 14-0 run that culminated on Cook’s uncontested 3-pointer from the top of the key with 6:23 left in the game that tied it at 34-34.

“It’s such a testament to the commitment they have made to turn this program and this team around,” Oswego first-year coach Venita Parsons said. “I told them, I was like, you never back down from a fight. You know, the Oswego that we’ve had for the last three years would have been down a few points right away and just kind of hung their head. You know what I mean? And I told him when I went to the bench, I said, who wants to play? I need girls who want to play. I don’t care about how many mistakes you make, but if you do I’m going 100%. I’m okay with that, and they battled.”

Committing 16 turnovers and missing 18 free throws proved especially costly to the Panthers.

“We were 11 for 29 from the free throw line, that’s gonna kill anybody,” Parsons said. “When it’s a close game like that, both very skilled teams, you got to make your free throws. And 16 turnovers, that’s rough for a varsity team. You can’t win games if you can’t take care of the ball and make your shots.”

The Foxes hadn’t taken a charge through their first seven games, but took four, including a pair from senior Sydney McCabe.

“The charges were huge, and that was nice to see because we haven’t had a charge yet this year,” Wensits said. “It was truly just sound fundamental defense of doing the things we talk about, so it was nice to see the kids execute that.”

Cook pulled the Panthers to within 44-42 with a layup with 23 seconds remaining. Foxes junior Aubrey Spychalski split two free throws to make it 45-42 before sophomore Madelyn-Jordyn Mesah did the same to make it 45-43 with 14.6 second left.

Jones made all eight of her free throws in the decisive fourth quarter, including a pair with 13.8 seconds remaining to make it a 47-43 game.

“That was an interesting game,” Wensits said. “You know, kudos to (Oswego). They did a great job of battling back. They didn’t quit. They had great energy and they played hard the whole game. I’m proud of our kids, too, They did a nice job of not letting it rattle them, still being able to finish in the end.”

Parsons found plenty of positives despite coming up short.

“That’s some of the best defense we’ve ever played,” she said. “You know, that’s some of the best team chemistry we’ve had so far. I told them even though this is a four-point loss, this is an entirely different outcome than it’s been season after season after season.”