Decatur’s girls basketball team is still searching for their first win after coming up just short against Mount Rainier as they lost 44-35 on Thursday at Todd Beamer High School.

Not only were the Gators hoping for their first win of the season, they were hoping to win their first league win since they defeated Bonney Lake 33-30 in the 2011-12 season when they were members of the South Puget Sound League 3A.

To get a win this season, they will have to do so away from Decatur High School where their gym has been deemed unsuitable for competition.

Decatur, winless in their first four games of the season, came into the game on the heels of a 78-10 loss to Todd Beamer on Dec. 15.

The Rams have found some success out-of-conference this season, but had also struggled in league games as they lost 43-32 to Thomas Jefferson and 41-32 to Federal Way.

The first quarter showed just how evenly matched the teams would be that night as they ended the quarter tied, 9-9.

Makayla Lambert made a quick impression for the Gators as she scored four in the first quarter, pulling in rebounds on both the offensive and defensive ends. Yasmin Young added another four for the Gators in the first quarter as well.

Decatur had trouble with turnovers throughout, but were able to keep within range or ahead of the Rams for much of the game.

The Gators built a 19-13 lead in the final minute of the second quarter, their largest of the night. Gabrielle Allen came off of the bench and energized Decatur with four quick points as halftime approached.

A quick scoring burst for the Rams cut that lead to 19-17 at the half.

“The energy was good and the intensity was good,” Decatur head coach Trudy Tatum said. “They were really excited about coming out in the second half and playing their game.”

The second half did not start out exactly how the Gators had planned as Mount Rainier’s Ali Reiff quickly tied the game and Madison Lommen put the Rams in the lead after a Gators turnover.

With the game tied at 29 as the clock ran down in the third, Lommen sunk a floater from just inside the paint to put Mount Rainier up 31-29. Decatur missed the final shot of the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Decatur was unable to get anything going. Mount Rainier was able to push their lead to eight points as the Gators struggled with turnovers.

Decatur was able to get the Rams into foul trouble, but they were unable to convert from the line. They scored their first point of the quarter with 2:13 left to play.

They were able to cut the Rams lead down to 38-33, but could not complete the comeback. Mount Rainier scored six of the final eight points.

Lommen scored a game-high 16 points for the Rams. Ainsley Keane was second in scoring for Mount Rainier with eight points.

Lambert led the Gators with her double-double on points and rebounds.

“We’ve got a lot of young players and I think that’s going to help us in the future with more games to come,” Tatum said. “We’re going to take this loss and learn from it and be ready to meet Highline on the 21st.

“The girls have heart. We can teach the skills of the game, but we can’t teach heart. These girls want to play and bond together. That’s the difference between last year and this year. I think it’s going to be a good asset to how we’re hopefully going to win some games this year.”

Decatur (0-5, 0-4) played Highline on Dec. 21. Their next game will be on the road against Hazen at 6 p.m. on Dec. 30.