The No. 2 seed Lady Wildcats hit their final seven free throws, completing a 53-48 comeback victory over the third-seeded Lady Pirates in the semifinals of the Tipton Tournament on Thursday night.
New Bloomfield (3-1) squared off against top-seeded Tipton for the tournament championship Saturday night. Results were not available at press time.
Freshman guard Madi Craighead was fouled on a missed 3-point attempt with about a minute left Thursday night and the Lady Wildcats trailing 48-46. Craighead connected on all three free throws to push New Bloomfield on top.
After a stop on defense, senior guard Mykaela Bonnett stretched the Lady Wildcats' lead to 51-48 on a pair of free throws with :30 to play.
Senior center Zoe Welschmeyer's two free throws with :05 remaining capped off the rally and the Lady Wildcats' 16-of-19 performance from the foul line.
"I was pleased with the way we fought back when we were down; we lost the lead, then we fought back," New Bloomfield head coach Brett Craighead said. "I thought everyone stepped up and played their part, and were pulling for each other."
Madi Craighead finished with a game-high 16 points, including a 7-of-7 showing from the line. Bonnett also provided 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Baylee Garrett logged nine points.
The Lady Wildcats intensified their press in the second quarter, outscoring Macks Creek 15-5 to take a 26-21 lead into halftime. The Lady Pirates countered by outscoring New Bloomfield 18-11 in the third quarter to go in front 39-37, but the Lady Wildcats' defense responded again by limiting Macks Creek to just nine points in the fourth quarter.
Sydnee Daughtery and Faith Manning both scored 13 points to pace the Lady Pirates.