CAMDEN — Anitra Roell sees improvement from her team each night they take the floor.

Now it’s just a matter of gelling as a team and sealing the deal for that first win.

“We’re still looking to figure out how to gel as a team. We did have fewer turnovers tonight and shot a decent field goal percentage,” she said moments after her Preble Shawnee girls basketball team let a six-point fourth-quarter lead slip away in a 43-41 loss to visiting Franklin-Monroe on Thursday, Dec. 21.

After falling behind 6-0 midway through the first quarter Shawnee battled back to trail just 8-7 after one.

The Arrows took a 17-12 lead with just over three minutes left in the half and took a 19-18 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Shawnee extended its lead to 29-26 after three quarters. The Arrows pushed their lead to 32-26 less than a minute into the fourth quarter.

But the Jets Eva Shellabarger went on a personal 8-0 run, which included back-to-back three-pointers to give her team a 34-32 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the game.

The Arrows closed to within 38-37 with 1:30 left. F-M extended its lead to 41-37 with 20.2 seconds left with free throws. After a quick Shawnee basket, the Arrows trailed 41-39 with nine seconds left.

The Jets then missed two free throws with seven seconds left, but grabbed the offensive rebound after the second miss. F-M then connected on a pair of free throws with five seconds left to put the game out of reach.

“(We’re) trying to find five girls that can work together to run an offense,” Roell said. “Defensively, for the most part, we had another good game. (We) just need to figure out how to put the ball through the hoop. They truly are getting better every game. We just haven’t figured out how to come out on top.”

Shawnee was led by Autumn Smith and Caylee Hatmaker, who each scored nine.

“Autumn did step up and make some shots tonight which she has not done,” Roell said. “Autumn is one that we have been asking to step up and be a scorer (and she did tonight).”

Bella Agee added six, Aubrey Unger and Ashleigh Mondello-Garrett tossed in five.

Shawnee (0-7, 0-4 WOAC) is off until they travel to Oakwood on Saturday, Dec. 30 for an afternoon game.

“We have a week before our next game. A lot to figure out. After the first of the year. I really feel like our schedules winnable,” Roell said. “We need to slow down offensively. We just run, run, run, run crazy and don’t control anything. We want to play fast but under control.”

Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4061 and follow on X @emowenjr.