The Seymour girls basketball team dropped a Hoosier Hills Conference game 57-53 to New Albany on Thursday evening at Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium.
The Owls (15-7) were up 53-50 against the Bulldogs (15-6) with 1:43 left in the game, but never scored after that mark.
The Owls appeared to start the game on the right foot by taking a quick 3- lead from a made field goal and free throw from Lauren James, but the Owls’ leaky defense and missed opportunities on offense led to an 9-0 run by the Bulldogs.
Owls coach Jason Longmeier then took a timeout with 3:52 remaining in the quarter.
The Owls bounced back and were able to end the first quarter down 14-8.
Seymour’s Makenna Fee opened the second quarter with two made free throws before the Bulldogs went on another 8-0 run to bring the score to 22-10 in favor of New Albany. Then the Owls went on a run of their own led by James. Through a series of made free throws and well executed plays, the Owls went on an 8-0 run to cut into the Bulldogs’ lead to make the score 22-18.
Both teams traded possessions and the Owls’ offense sparked with two three-pointers made by James and Kayla Griffin. The Owls went into the locker room down 30-26 at the half.
James led the Owls with 11 points and two rebounds at the half.
The Owls opened the third quarter with a jump-shot from Fee and the Bulldogs answered with two scores to give the Bulldogs a 38-28 lead.
Both teams had defenses that forced a number of turnovers in the third. The Owls offense committed seven turnovers while the Bulldogs committed five. Both teams traded possessions and the quarter ended with the Bulldogs up 42-36.
The Owls opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run powered by a layup from James and a sequence of plays from senior Katie Suits. Suits made made a jump shot, picked up a loose ball and made another jump shot and got a rebound all in consecutive plays in the start of the fourth quarter.
Suits scored a total of six points off the bench for the Owls in the fourth.
The Owls had a three-point lead with less than two minutes to go in the game, but let a 7-0 run by the Bulldogs erase their lead.
James led the Owls 16 points and five rebounds and Kayla Griffin added 15 points and four rebounds.
The Owls will travel to Columbus East Saturday night before sectional play.