Tipp girls fall to Bellbrook in district semis

Despite the final score, the Tippecanoe Red Devils did compete well with Bellbrook in the Division 3 District Finals last week at Springfield, as they fell to the Golden Eagles 62-36, finishing their season 18-6 overall.

Bellbrook opened up with a solid first quarter, jumping in front 14-8 before the Red Devils battled back behind five points from Ella Combs in the second period and only trailed 27-25 at the half. Tipp looked to be headed into the half with the lead before Lauren Fabrink dropped her three at the buzzer.

“We were in control of the game in the second quarter and they went on a mini run toward the end of the half,” Tipp coach Julian Grasso said. “Fabrink missed all of her threes in the first half then she hit that one, and she was due to hit one.”

Grasso felt good about how his team performed on the big stage in the opening 16 minutes.

“I am super proud and we were prepared for them,” Grasso said. “We had a solid first half. Mady Turner handled the ball well for us in the first half and made some great passes.  Courtney Post scored for us inside with three quick buckets. It was a high quality game.”

Bellbrook had a big third quarter, outscoring Tipp 24-8 in that period to force Tipp to have to play catchup in the final eight minutes.

“I don’t think we panicked in the third quarter, we just could not make shots,” Grasso said. Mader was the only player who scored in that period with all eight points. “We made some mistakes, but we just needed to hit shots. It prevents us from setting into our defense when we don't hit shots.”

“Technically, we got blown out, but if a couple of things went right in the third quarter, we were in the game.”

Tipp only scored three points in the fourth period as Bellbrook continued to add to their lead.

Mader led the way with 15 points, Post added eight and Combs scored five for Tipp.

“Abbi played well, she was really sick last week and her timing was off,” Grasso said. “She will be disappointed she didn't play better and that is what makes her special.”

The Red Devils finished their season second overall in the conference and had their best record since the 2020-21 season.

“We got two wins over Sidney, and a home win over Versailles,” Grasso said. “It was disappointing losing Reese Hoover, she was having a first-team all conference season. She does so much around the rim, we were exposed without her on the court.”