Tipp girls fall to Northridge in sectionals 58-47
After a gallant third quarter comeback gave the Tippecanoe girls basketball team the momentum they would need to escape with the tournament win, it was a rough fourth quarter that saw Northridge outscore the Red Devils 25-7 over the final nine minutes of the game to knock off the second-seeded Tipp squad 58-47 to send the Red Devils home one game away from the sectional finals.
The Polar Bears, coming in with only three scoring options, used all three to their advantage as they combined for all but five points for Northridge as they shocked the #2 seed and advanced into the finals against Urbana, which was played last night.
Northridge led by nine at the half, but a different look Red Devils team dominated the third period to gain the seven-point lead, only to see things fall apart for Tipp.
“We knew they were going to come out ready to go, play aggressive and play hard,” Tipp coach Christina Pentaudi said “We really struggled in the first half on the defensive end. Offensively, we were getting what we wanted.”
“We adjusted at halftime, and it helped our third quarter, and we had a big lead but then we fell apart on defense and it gave them the momentum.”
When Maddy Turner hit a shot with just under three minutes left in the first quarter, it gave the Red Devils a 9-8 lead. Northridge used an 8-0 run to take a 16-9 lead late in the opening quarter before Emily Aselage ended the period with a score to cut the Northridge lead to 16-11 after the opening period.
A big second quarter for Jovnah Jordan saw the guard score nine points, and the Polar Bears built their 10-point lead with 2:41 left in the half. Tipp battled back to cut it to six points before it was built back up to nine points at the half.
Then came the Tipp run in the third and they looked like a different team. Tipp scored the first 15 points of the third period and seemingly took control of the game as Laney Cleckner and Macey Griffin each hit threes while Courtney Post scored five and Aselage four during the run, giving Tipp a 40-22 lead with 1:37 left in the third.
From there, Northridge regained the momentum and took over the game with an 18-point difference to end the game, knocking the Red Devils from the sectionals. Aselage led Tipp with 16 points and Post added 10.