The No. 2 seeded Lady Wildcats were outscored 24-11 over the final eight minutes in falling to the top-seeded Cardinals 57-53 in the finals of the Tipton Tournament on Saturday.
New Bloomfield (3-2) led 42-33 through three quarters, but foul trouble allowed Tipton to reach the bonus and attempt 13 free throws in the fourth.
"(The foul trouble) made us passive on defense because we couldn't be as aggressive as we once were," Craighead said.
The Lady Wildcats used a 17-7 scoring effort in the second to take a 27-18 lead into halftime. Each team netted 15 points in the third as New Bloomfield maintained its nine-point advantage.
Senior guard Mykaela Bonnett paced New Bloomfield with 17 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Madi Cragihead posted 16 points, while senior guard Sydni Bedsworth netted 10.
Ashton Pace led Tipton with a game-high 26 points and Destiny Dowell finished with 10.
"I'm disappointed that we lost, but I'm not disappointed in our effort," Lady Wildcats coach Brett Craighead said. "Hopefully, we learn from it."
New Bloomfield hosts Wellsville at 6 p.m. Thursday.