JAMESTOWN — The Fredonia Lady ‘Billies came ever so close to starting the season with a win on the road against a Class AA school. Instead, a late lead slipped away and the Jamestown Red Raiders came away with a 50-47 victory in overtime in a girls basketball tip-off tournament game in Jamestown on Friday night.

Jamestown’s Marley Drake led the way with a game-high 22 points, including five 3-pointers, while Jill Kindberg also had 19 points. Drake’s five 3’s helped Jamestown claw back from a 12-point deficit to force overtime. Then, after Jamestown took the lead, Fredonia’s Kazlin Beers had a chance to tie the game on a 3-pointer at the end of overtime, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“We controlled the tempo at the beginning. … My girls played hard,” said Fredonia first-year coach Dan Vona after his first game as coach. “It was a good situation for them to be in early in the season.”

Fredonia (0-1) was forced to play shorthanded, as senior starter Nagely Vazquez missed the game with an illness. Fredonia only carries nine players on varsity when everyone is healthy. Gabriela Matos, a sophomore in her first year on varsity “really stepped up,” according to Vona, with eight points and 11 rebounds. The Lady ‘Billies were led by Anna Buchanan’s 18 points, along with nine rebounds and five steals. Beers had nine points, 13 rebounds and five steals, while Samantha Tabone added seven points.

Fredonia plays Tapestry tonight at 6 p.m. to conclude the tournament.