Coach Jason Longmeier says his Seymour girls basketball team is getting better every game, and Tuesday night’s 56-48 win over Bloomington South is proof.

He said the game in the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium was a good win.

“The way we started 0-2 against probably the two best 3A teams in the state of Indiana and to bounce back the last three games and play the way we did, I couldn’t be more proud of our kids,” he said.

Longmeier said the key to the win was the defensive effort.

“Our game plan was to play zone and really try to get to their shooters,” he said. “I thought Larry (Winters, Bloomington South coach) came out with a good game plan and showed us some things we had not seen them do against a zone.

“We had to make an early adjustment. Grace Meyer picked up two early fouls (the second at 6:26 of the first quarter). It was a 5-0 start (by South) and it didn’t look good. Our kids really answered the bell from that point on.”

Kendall Sterling scored three baskets to spark the Owls to a 13-12 lead at the end of the first period, and Seymour led the rest of the way in posting its third straight win.

Alyssa Perry made two baskets, Brooke Trinkle hit a 3-pointer and Meyer scored five points in the second quarter to help the Owls take a 27-18 lead at the half.

Seymour’s lead increased to 35-20 following a basket by Grace Schrader with 5:20 left in the third quarter.

The Owls held a 37-29 lead going into the fourth quarter but saw their margin shrink to 44-40 with 4:45 left before the home team regained its composure and used a 7-0 run to build the lead back to 50-40.

Longmeier said his team showed a lot of toughness down the stretch by making 13 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Meyer was 6-for-6 at the line, Sterling was 4-for-5 and Schrader and Jamya Miller both made two each in the final 8 minutes.

The Owls held a 29-23 advantage in rebounds.

Schrader topped the Owls with nine rebounds.

“Our main key was rebounding,” she said. “We had to stop turning it over, and that’s what we did. We knew what we had to do, keep them from shooting the 3. That was our main focus also. That’s what their big game was.

“We all had to contribute. One hundred percent this was our best team effort. That is what coach said in the locker room. It was our best game of the season.”

In scoring a season-high in points, Seymour had three players in double figures for the first time this year, as Meyer and Schrader both scored 15 and Sterling had 11.

Longmeier said South senior guard Brooke Grinstead is the best player his team has faced yet, and she finished with five 3-pointers and 17 points.

The Owls coach complimented the job Miller did on defense against Grinstead.

“I thought Jamya Miller was as tough as nails,” he said. “She hit a big shot for us, but I thought more than anything, defensively she was just all over (Grinstead). I thought we did a good job of chasing their 3-point shooters off the line. They hit (five) 3s, but they were really tough looks, and we didn’t give them a whole lot of easy ones.”

The Owls (3-2) will host Brownstown Central on Thursday night, and Schrader said Seymour has to treat it as just another game.

“We can’t think of it as a rival game because it isn’t,” she said. “It’s just another game. We’re working really hard in practice, and that’s how you win games.”

Seymour 56, Bloomington South 48

Bloomington South;12;6;11;19;-;48

Seymour;13;14;10;19;-;56

Seymour (3-2) — Grace Meyer 3 9-10 15, Kendall Sterling 4 3-4 11, Alyssa Perry 3 0-0 6, Jamya Miller 1 2-5 5, Grace Schrader 5 5-5 15, Brooke Trinkle 1 1-2 4, Kendrick Sterling 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 20-26 56.

Bloomington South (3-3) — Anya Friend 5 1-2 11, Kendall Harmon 1 2-2 4, Raine Rolan 3 4-7 10, Brooke Grinstead 5 2-2 17, Abbie Lucas 1 0-0 2, Mya Lawrence 2 0-2 4. Totals 11 9-15 48.

3-point goals: Seymour (Miller Trinkle), BS (Grinstead 5).

Rebounds: Seymour 29 (Schrader 9, Meyer 8), BS 23 (Harmon 7).

Turnovers: Seymour 14, BS 12.

Fouls: Seymour 14, BS 19.

Junior varsity

Seymour 35, Bloomington South 20

Seymour — Journee Brown 15, Sydney Montgomery 10, Lexi Morris 4, Jaidyn Nichols 2, Claire Marshall 2, Lainey Jackson 2.