The Kingston High girls basketball team ran into one of its toughest opponents of the season Wednesday at the Class 2A state basketball tournament.

The Buccaneers (17-7 overall) scored a season-low 23 points as they fell to the Prosser Lady Mustangs, 45-23. Kingston will face Squalicum High in a loser-out game at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Prosser (20-3), which placed sixth in last year’s tournament, will move on to play the Elma Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Mustangs are on a 12-game winning streak.

Kingston started Wednesday’s game strong against the Lady Mustangs. Things seemed to be working as the Bucs trailed by just four at halftime.

“We had a really good first half,” Kingston Head Coach Penny Gienger said.

But Prosser began to edge ahead after the break. A combination of tough defense by the Lady Mustangs and missed opportunities by the Bucs soon sealed Kingston’s fate.

“They just kept pulling away and pulling away,” Gienger said. “We were struggling with our scoring. We missed a couple cheapies. We just couldn’t get a good look at the basket.”

The Bucs can still finish as high as fifth place in the tournament, but must win three games in a row to do so. Look for continued coverage of Kingston’s state tournament run at www.northkitsapherald.com.