After a back-and-forth first half, the Zionsville Lady Eagles were looking for a good start to the third quarter on Tuesday night against Carmel.
But it was the visiting Greyhounds who threw the opening blows of the second half, and the Lady Eagles could never fully recover in a 49-41 loss.
“I thought the turning point of the game was probably the third quarter,” Zionsville head coach Jen Drudge said. “We got tired and they had three buckets in a row in transition and that was the turning point. It’s good for us early to play against a team that plays at that pace and we are going to see more teams playing at that pace also. It gives us a chance to look at how we need to grow through through the season to be able to play with that kind of team.”
Tied at 18 at the half, Carmel led by one midway through the third quarter when they went on an 11-2 run to take a 34-24 lead after back-to-back 3s by Catherine Bassi.
Bassi hit five of the Greyhounds eight 3-pointers in the game, including four in the third quarter.
Zionsville was just 1-of-16 from behind the arc.
“What makes them so good at the 3-point line is they put five kids out there that can handle the ball,” Drudge said. “They are hard to guard, and as soon as they break you down on defense – the tendency is to help in on the drive and it’s hard to get kids not to do that because they can kick to open 3s. They’ve been shooting the ball well this season and shot well again today.”
The Eagles clawed back within two late in the third quarter following an 8-0 run, before trailing 36-32 heading into the final period.
But in the fourth quarter, Zionsville came up empty on its first six possessions of the the quarter, allowing Carmel to build the lead back to 8.
A 3-pointer by Emma Tinder brought the Eagles as close as five in the the final minute, but Carmel went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the quarter, including a 6-of-6 effort from Izzy Shepherd.
“(It’s tough to come back), especially a team like that with veteran players,” Drudge said. “I thought their veteran players made veteran plays down the stretch. It makes it tough to come back against a team like that.”
Caroline Sampson had 16 points and six rebounds for the Eagles.
Tinder had 10 points and five rebounds with Kenzie Chapman having eight points and Emily Zack seven.
Sammie Kulwicki pulled down eight rebounds.
Along with the 3-point shooting, the Eagles hurt themselves with turnovers – where they had a season-high 19.
“We didn’t do a good job of using our bench tonight so we did get fatigued,” Drudge said. “When that happens, we gave up some transition points and lost track of some people behind us. We would get in for loose balls, but then would be in a hurry to get rid of it. We need to do a better job of using our bench players and then as the season goes along we will be in better game shape.”
The Eagles now get ready for conference play.
They travel to Avon on Friday night, then host Fishers on Tuesday.
“We are very excited,” Drudge said of starting conference play. “We go into Avon on Friday and they play at a furious pace also. They aren’t very big, but they run up and down the court and shoot a lot of 3s. All their guards can break you down. There will be some similarities to tonight, and there will be a lot of energy in that gym.”
Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.