The visiting North Kingstown girls basketball team would come back to beat Cranston West 46-44 on Monday night in a pivotal Division I showdown.

The Falcons would lead by six points late in the third quarter, but the North Kingstown shooters would get hot to tie things up heading into the fourth.

The two clubs exchanged leads in the final eight minutes, but the Skippers would be rewarded six free throw attempts in the final two minutes and they would convert on four of them to secure the win.

“Sometimes, big games come down to free throws and that’s what happened tonight. They made two more than we did and that was the deciding factor today,” said West coach Nerson Santiago after the loss.

The Falcons continued to impress from beyond the arc, with four players scoring 3-pointers including sharp-shooter Kyla Buco, who finished with 14 points and four 3’s. Maia Riccio led the team with 15 points despite getting into foul trouble.

“We’re ready for any shootout. If we’re on, watch out,” said Santiago, who has been encouraged by his team’s performance as it closes in on next week’s playoffs. “We have to keep Maia Riccio out of foul trouble, we’re a different team when she’s on the floor. We’re getting good defense, our shooters are shooting. If we get a little more patient down the stretch, than anything can happen in the playoffs. We’re looking forward to it.”

The Falcons dropped to 11-6 in league play with the loss and sat in sixth place in the division. Five of their losses came from teams ahead of them in the standings.

Although West is still looking for ways to beat the state’s elite clubs, Santiago feels that the team just needs to keep shooting well and come together as a unit.

“Any given night in Division I, anybody can beat anybody. I like our chances when we’re playing the right way, when we’re moving the ball, sharing the ball, being unselfish, going downhill and kicking out to the shooters. If we play good defense and shoot well, we should go far in the playoffs,” Santiago said. “We just need to be patient and let the game come to us. We can’t keep forcing it. If we can do that, then we’ll be successful.”