Tri High’s Lauren Bouslog. Photo by Ryan Tincher.
TIPTON, Ind. – Tri High’s girls basketball season came to an end on Saturday as the eighth-ranked Titans fell 43-41 to Tri-Central in the afternoon session of the Class 1A Tipton Regional.
“I knew we were pretty even,” Tri High Co-Head Coach Jeff Miller said. “It was going to come down to who got the breaks.”
Perhaps the biggest break of the contest came when Tri-Central’s Sarah Quesada grabbed an offensive rebound. Quesada put the Trojans up for good as she scored to make it 38-37 with 1:23 remaining.
“At this level it comes down to one or two possessions,” Miller said. “A missed block-out and an offensive rebound can come back to haunt you. It did there.”
The Titans (21-5) weren’t finished, but they couldn’t recover.
“We got some good looks,” Miller said. “You’ve got to value the ball at this level of the tournament. We made a couple of mistakes.”
Saturday’s game marked the final contest for Tri High seniors Lauren Bouslog, Payton Moore and Breanna Reece.
“We can’t say enough about the seniors, especially Lauren and Payton.” Miller said. “Those two just pulled the team together.
Rough Start
The Titans fell behind early as they trailed 8-1 midway through the first quarter. However, by the end of the period, the game was tied 10-10.
Both teams struggled to score in the second frame, but the Titans managed a 16-15 lead by halftime.
Tri High opened up the affair as they built a 25-17 lead with 4:57 left in the third period. The Trojans battled back to cut the deficit to 29-27 heading into the final stanza.
Moore led the Titans 16 points and nine rebounds.
Bouslog added 10 points and five rebounds, while Averi Phelps contributed seven points and five rebounds.
The Trojans (15-10) were led by Nicole Sharp with 13 points. Sharp hit four free throws in the last minute to help hold off the Titans.