Todd Rose | Daily Press Superior Central’s Riley Johnson shoots a three as North Central’s Shea LaCoursier (34) defends down low Thursday night in Powers.

POWERS — The Superior Central girls seized the momentum in the fourth quarter here Thursday night in a come-from-behind 42-36 basketball triumph over the North Central Jets.

North Central led 34-27 after the third frame of this Skyline Central Conference match-up but was outscored 15-2 in the fourth.

The Cougars trailed until the final 68 seconds when senior Charlotte Charlebois sank a jump shot from top of the key for a 38-36 lead.

Senior Riley Johnson added a layup with 37 seconds remaining, and classmate Emma Rutter secured the decision on a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left.

“They came out ready to play,” said Cougars’ coach Skip Rutter. “I had to remind the girls to trust in their defense, and our help defense did all right. We struggled against the 2-3 against Monday night (in a 49-43 loss to Mid Peninsula). We worked on that and had a good week in practice. He (coach Dave Florenski) did a nice job preparing them.”

The Jets, who ran a combination of man-to-man and match-up zone defense early in the contest, stayed mainly in a 2-3 during the second half.

North Central grabbed a 19-10 lead on sophomore Sam Burton’s jumper from top of the key with three seconds remaining in the opening frame.

The Cougars climbed within 24-21 on a putback by junior Maddie Begovac with one minute, 23 seconds left in the second stanza.

North Central junior Zoe LaBonte hit a five-foot jumper and free throw through the remainder of the second for a 27-21 halftime lead.

The Jets still led 34-24 late in the third before Begovac drained a 23-foot jumper from the left wing to trim Superior Central’s deficit to 34-27.

North Central still led 36-30 in the fourth but failed to score in the remaining five minutes.

The Jets played without sophomore Gracie Kleikamp in the second half.

“Gracie has tendinitis in her shoulder,” said Florenski. “It started to flare up, and I had to shut her down. She’s a good defender and averaging 15 points a game, but a players’ health is more important than any win.”

Charlebois led the Cougars with 15 points. Johnson added 10, and Begovac had eight.

“One of our sophomores (Alice Hancock) had been struggling, but she did all right tonight,” said coach Rutter. “I’m impressed with the way they came out. Burton hit a couple big shots for them after she had four fouls, and Kleikamp is a nice player. I hate to see that happen.”

Burton paced the Jets with a career-high 16 points.

“We had to sit back in a 2-3 zone because of injuries and foul trouble,” said Florenski. “We also had to take Zoie out because she fouled out and finished with five girls. I’m proud of their effort. I really enjoy coaching these girls.”

North Central committed 21 turnovers, and the Cougars had 19.

The Cougars, who also won the JV game 34-13, host North Dickinson Monday. The Jets host Bark River-Harris Monday.

Superior Central 10 11 6 15 — 42

North Central 19 8 7 2 — 36

Superior Central — Charlebois 15, Augustyn 2, Rutter 3, Begovac 8, Johnson 10, Hancock 2, Rondeau 2. FT: 8-15; F: 13; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Charlebois, Begovac 2.

North Central — Burton 16, Smith 7, LaBonte 6, LaCoursier 7. FT: 3-6; F: 14; Fouled out: Burton; 3-point field goals: Burton 3, Smith, LaBonte.