JEFFERSON CITY -- It's a frustrating refrain for Poplar Bluff coach John David Pattillo.
The Lady Mules suffered a second half lull, followed by a close loss to a good team.
This time, the Mules went from scoring 19 points in the first quarter to scoring four in the fourth and lost to Columbia Hickman 41-40 at Jefferson City.
"I'm making the same excuses for me, I'm making the same excuses for them. We are struggling with the confidence to play in the second half.
This bunch can compete with anybody. We have to find the will to finish out games," Poplar Bluff coach John David Pattillo said.
Kiley Bess, who tweaked her ankle in the game, led Poplar Bluff with 18 points.
Columbia Hickman had two players score all but four points.
Bess turned her ankle midway through the fourth quarter and played through it, albeit at less than 100 percent.
Poplar Bluff led from the start to nearly the finish, but the Mules gave up a transition layup with about 40 seconds to give Hickman its first lead of the game.
"We just didn't get anything done in late game situations," Pattillo said.
Still down a point late, Poplar Bluff got the ball to Katie Pattillo for an open 3, but it rattled in and out at the buzzer.
"We thought we had it even then," Pattillo said. "We are just struggling to find a way to finish ballgames and win ballgames."
Poplar Bluff has now lost five in a row, and four of those losses were by single digits.
The Lady Mules' only losses by double digits were by 14 points to Olive Branch (Miss.) in the SEMO Border Challenge, and by 11 points to Saxony Lutheran back in April.
Poplar Bluff loaded the first half of its schedule against difficult competition. The conference schedule starts in January, and with it, a softer schedule that could allow the Lady Mules to stack wins.