NEW CARLISLE — Bellefontaine’s plan to slow down Trotwood-Madison was successful, but it didn’t account for a rough night from the foul line.
The Chiefs just 41 percent (12-29) at the charity stripe in a 49-34 loss to the second-seeded Rams in a Division II girls sectional semifinal basketball game here Tuesday night.
“We wanted to make it a half-court game, and we did a pretty good job of that,” said Bellefontaine head coach Henry Stolly. “Really, we executed our game plan about as well as we could have. We just didn’t make enough free throws to give ourselves a chance to win the game. But we stayed right there until the end, so I am proud of the girls for that.”
The Rams led 10-6 after one quarter and pushed their lead to 14 points (27-13) at halftime.
Bellefontaine was able to stay within striking distance for much of the second half. Trotwood’s lead grew as high as 16 before the Chiefs were able to cut it to 12 (34-22) at the end of the third quarter.
The Chiefs chipped away in the fourth period, closing to within eight (42-34) after a Carmen Shumaker free throw with 58 seconds left. However, Bellefontaine was unable to get any closer.
“I thought as the game went on the girls did a better job settling in against their press,” said Stolly. “It took a little bit of time to adjust to their quickness, but we handled it better in the second half.
“Trotwood is a very good team. They are a Division II team playing in a Division I conference. They have been battle tested. Our girls showed a lot of grit by holding up against them.”
Hannah Rader led the Chiefs with 10 points. Carmen Shumaker had eight points and Lexxi Gorham added five points. Quantaijah Huffman led the Rams with a game-high 21 points.
Bellefontaine finishes the season with an 11-13 record.
“It was a good season,” said Stolly. “We had to replace quite a few seniors from last year and we had several girls step up. It was the second straight season that we won a tournament game and we want to keep working toward getting to the sectional final. It was a good step in the right direction.”