Naylor cut Poplar Bluff's 16-point lead down to a single point with six minutes to play Wednesday night but the Eagles didn't score again.
Kiley Bess got a steal leading to a three-point play as the Mules scored the final 12 points to beat Naylor 52-39 at the Senior High Gym.
"That was a big play right there," Mules coach John David Pattillo said.
Poplar Bluff (13-6) held Naylor (7-11) scoreless after the Eagles put together 13 straight points midway through the second half.
"I was very proud of them for coming back," Naylor coach Gene Deckard said. "Hard to get over the hump. We missed a few free throws, missed some point-blank (shots) and then made a couple of turnovers or didn't get a routine defensive rebound.
"All those little things add up."
Bess scored seven of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, sinking all three of her free throws, to go with seven steals and five rebounds.
Callee Pickrell's 21 points led Naylor while Maddy Cagle scored all eight of her points in the opening two minutes of the fourth quarter.
"The Pickrell girl just puts you in a bind," Pattillo said. "You put two people on her and you leave one of the girls open. ...When they were open, they hit some shots."
Pickrell's three-point play late in the third quarter cut Naylor's deficit to 40-29. It also sent Shelby Sievers to the bench with her fourth foul, sitting next to Doni Everts who had picked up her fourth midway through the third quarter.
Pickrell found Cagle open for a 3 to start the fourth quarter and Alyssa Urich scored in transition before Cagle knocked down another 3 off a cross-court pass by Pickrell. Cagle scored in transition to cap the run and pull the Eagles within 40-39.
Naylor had the ball looking to take its first lead of the game but Bess got a steal and headed up court. The sophomore made a spin move in the lane and shot in traffic as she was fouled with 5 1/2 minutes left. Pickrell hit her head on the court when she fell backwards on the play but returned after Bess sank her free throw.
Everts and Sievers checked back into the game with a little over 5 minutes left. They avoided a fifth foul subbing out on defense when possible.
With 6-foot freshman Sierra Sievers unavailable after suffering an ankle injury in the junior varsity game, sophomores Abby Turner and Hannah Bass came off the bench and freshman Hannah Corcimiglia got the start.
"Abby came in there and did a good job and Hannah helped us some," Pattillo said. "I thought the two Hannahs did a good job defensively."
Everts got a putback with 3 1/2 minutes left to extend Poplar Bluff's lead to 45-39 and Corcimiglia followed with a corner 3 off a pass from Bess, who later sank two free throws and then completed the run with a steal and layin.
"We've got four sophomores and a freshmen out there a lot of times and they're handling themselves pretty well," Pattillo said.
Both teams ran into early foul trouble.
Sievers picked up two fouls in a little over two minutes while Naylor's McKenzie Crofford had three in the first quarter.
The Mules used an 11-2 run in the first quarter to build a nine-point lead but led 13-8 heading into the second quarter. Poplar Bluff's advantage reached nine after consecutive second-chance points early in the second but never reached double digits until after halftime.
Naylor got within 25-19 at the break but four more second-chance points padded Poplar Bluff's lead.
The Mules finished with a plus-10 rebounding advantage leading to 15 second-chance points.
"That was the difference in the game," Deckard said. "We take their second-chance points away we fair pretty well."
Corcimiglia's putback midway through the third quarter put the Mules up 35-22 and after a steal by Bass, Katie Pattillo sank a 3-pointer for a 16-point lead with a little over 3 minutes left in the third quarter.
Pattillo scored eight points for a second-straight game, matching her career-high.
The Mules won their third straight and improved to 12-1 when holding an opponent to 60 points or less. They return to SEMO Conference play Thursday by hosting Jackson in a rematch of the MSHSAA Class 5 District 1 championship game.
Naylor hosts Dexter on Thursday before starting the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament at Clearwater High School as the No. 5 seed. The Eagles play at 11:30 a.m. Saturday against fourth-seeded Greenville.
Poplar Bluff won a two-quarter junior varsity game 18-15.