Courtney Wise
TIPTON, Ind. – After leading for three quarters, the Union City girls basketball team had its season come to an abrupt end on Saturday night as the Indians fell 55-52 to Tri-Central in the Class 1A regional championship game at Tipton.
The contest was tied at 52-52 when Tri-Central’s Haley Farris hit 3-of-4 free throws to clinch the victory for the Trojans (17-11) with 3.2 seconds left to play.
“We were in a situation where we had the lead and we wanted to limit their time with the ball,” Union City Head Coach Sarah Hines said. “We took some shots that we really didn’t need, but they would have been huge had we hit them. We gave them more opportunities to score.”
Madeline Adams
Union City had built a double-digit margin in the third period and the Indians were able to hold a 41-33 edge when it was over.
The Trojans came to life offensively at the beginning of the fourth quarter by scoring 10 straight points to take their first lead of the contest at 43-41 with 6:05 remaining.
“Tri-Central hit big some shots in the second half,” Hines said.
Union City did have an answer. Madeline Adams hit a 3-pointer to put the Indians back on top 44-43 before the Trojans scored again to go in front by one.
Kelsey Zimmers drilled a pair of treys for the Indians as they came back to lead 50-45 at the 3:13 mark.
Baylee Hartman
Unfortunately for the Indians, when Courtney Wise scored to give them a 52-46 lead with 2:47 to go that would prove to be the final points of the contest for Union City.
“Our girls played hard,” Hines said. “They have nothing to hold their heads down about.”
“There were only eight teams playing tonight in Class 1A and we were one of them,” Hines added. “I told them to be proud of what you have done and accomplished, 21 wins and six losses is a pretty spectacular season.”
The Indians list of accomplishments included another Tri-Eastern Conference title, Union City Invitational championship, the school’s sixth sectional crown and the chance to be in the regional final.
Kelsey Zimmers
“It’s tough on all of them, especially for the seniors,” Hines said.
“They don’t get this opportunity again,” Hines continued. “It’s always tough to see them face that reality.”
Wise led the Indians with 14 points and three blocks to go with nine rebounds.
Adams added 11 points and a pair of steals.
Zimmers and Baylee Hartman tossed in nine points each.
Hartman also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds and handed out five assists.
Box Score
UNION CITY (21-6) – Justiss Cantu 1 0-1 3, Kora Kerns 0 0-0 0, Courtney Wise 6 2-4 14, Madeline Adams 4 0-0 11, Baylee Hartman 4 1-3 9, Kelsey Zimmers 3 0-0 9. Team – 20 3-8 52.
TRI-CENTRAL (17-11) – Haley Farris 6 7-10 20, Kelli Kingseed 0 0-0 0, Serea Quesada 0 0-0 0, Taylor Davis 3 2-2 10, Emily Richards 8 3-7 22, Ashley Schmidt 0 0-0 0, Kinsey Leininger 0 0-0 0, Jaide Cassity 0 0-0 0, Nicole Sharp 1 0-0 3. Team – 18 12-19 55.
Union City 13 28 41 52
Tri-Central 12 19 33 55
3-pointers – Union City 9 (Zimmers 3, Adams 3, Kerns 2, Cantu 1), Tri-Central 7 (Richards 3, Davis 2, Farris 1). Rebounds – Union City 35 (Hartman 13, Wise 9), Tri-Central 25. Turnovers – Union City 19, Tri-Central 12. Fouls – Union City 14, Tri-Central 11.