The Indian Creek girls basketball team spent much of Thursday night’s game against Roncalli camped out at the free- throw line.
Unfortunately for the Braves, the Rebels did just as much damage at the stripe and did a bit more from elsewhere, pulling away for a 65-49 road win.
Indian Creek (11-9) knocked down 20 of 33 foul shots, with Addie Rund hitting 11 of 15 by herself. But the Rebels were even a little more productive, making 21 of 30, and they also got some timely outside shooting in the second half to seal the deal.
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The Braves also squandered some opportunities to come back, missing seven of their last 11 free throws in the fourth quarter after cutting a 15-point deficit to five.
“Free throws are crucial, especially down the stretch,” Indian Creek coach Brian Ferris said. “You get yourself back in it, you’ve got to hit them.”
The home team spent the entire night playing catch-up, falling into an 8-0 hole at the outset. The Braves were able to get warmed up from outside late in the first quarter, with two 3-pointers from Katie Burkman closing the gap and another from Faith Smith sending the teams into the second period tied at 13.
That quarter belonged almost entirely to the Rebels (10-9), who used consistent trips to the foul line (10 of 13 in the opening half) and the offensive stylings of Alana Vinson, who scored 15 of her game-high 24 in the first half, to build a 29-18 advantage by the break.
“The second quarter was kind of where the wheels fell off a little bit,” Ferris said. “We got ourselves in a hole with uncharacteristic turnovers, bad shot selection, not really good movement, and Roncalli capitalized on everything.”
Indian Creek scored the first five points of the third on free throws to get within six, but a pair of 3s from Ellie Bischoff helped Roncalli stretch its lead back to as many as 15, 44-29, late in the third.
Burkman keyed a 6-0 spurt at the start of the final period that got the Braves within five at 45-40, but they got no closer. Vinson ended the run with a bucket at the 6:29 mark, and the Rebels stayed in control from there.
Roncalli plays at Center Grove on Saturday, while Indian Creek is off until a Western Indiana Conference playoff game Jan. 19.
