Seymour scored the final six points of Thursday night’s Hoosier Hills Conference game against the New Albany girls to create some breathing room for a 43-33 win in the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium.

After the Bulldogs closed to within 37-33 with 2:40 remaining, Grace Meyer and Grace Schrader drove for lay-ups, and Kendall Sterling dropped in a pair of free throws to help the Owls place fifth in the HHC at 3-4.

It was the last game of the regular season and Seymour finished with a 10-9 record.

“They’ve struggled to score the basketball at times, but they are capable of scoring,” Owls coach Jason Longmeier said.

The first half was a struggle for both teams as the Owls held a 15-13 lead at the break while only shooting 4-for-19 from the field.

Sterling led the Owls overall with 15 points. After she scored a basket in the opening quarter, she made all four of her free throws and a basket in the second period, and hit a 3-pointer and two more free throws in the third quarter, and went 8-for-8 at the line for the game.

Free throws and 3-pointers made a big difference for the Owls. They were 10-for-11 from the line while the Bulldogs were 2-for-2. Seymour made six 3-pointers while the visitors made one.

“We’ve got to keep them from the rim and make them an outside shooting team,” Longmeier. “This is a team that has shot a lot of free throws in the games they’ve been successful because they’ve got three or four kids that really attack the rim so defensively. We’ve got to have some early help.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re stopping them high so that they don’t get to the elbow and turn the corners. When you play a team as athletic as they are we have to close out possessions with defensive rebounds.”

Longmeier said another key for his team was to not let the Bulldogs take open shots. New Albany shot 15-for-41 from the floor and the Owls made 16-for-42.

He said the Owls couldn’t afford to let the Bulldogs have offensive rebounds.

Seymour held a 29-22 advantage in rebounds as Meyer, Sterling and Brooke Trinkle each grabbed 7.

New Albany opened the second half on a 6-0 run to take a 19-15 lead before Trinkle and Alyssa Perry scored back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 21-all.

A basket by Meyer broke the tie and put the Owls in front to stay. Meyer followed her jump shot with a 3-pointer, and Sterling added another 3-pointer for a 27-21 lead, as the Owls took a 29-23 lead into the fourth period.

“On the defensive end, they’re going to run a 1-2-2- press into a 2-3 zone and we’ve got to attack it and keep the ball moving,” Longmeier said.

Both teams had 15 turnovers.

Meyer and Trinkle scored 9 points each and Perry finished with 8.

Taylor Treat led the Bulldogs (2-6, 6-15) with 12 points and Myah Mitchell had 10 rebounds.

The Owls will play Jennings County at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the New Albany Sectional.

At Seymour

New Albany;6;7;10;10;-33

Seymour;9;6;14;14;-43

Seymour (10-9, 3-4 HHC) – Grace Meyer 4 0-0 9, Kendall Sterling 3 8-8 15, Alyssa Perry 3 0-0 8, Brooke Trinkle 3 2-2 9, Grace Schrader 1 0-0 2, Jamya Miller 0 0-0 0, Kendrick Sterling 0 0-0 0, Journee Brown 0 0-1 0, Eliza Cash 0 0-0 0, Cali Cummings 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 10-11 43

3-point goals: Seymour (Meyer 2, Kendall Sterling, Schrader, Trinkle)

Rebounds: Seymour 29 (Meyer 7, Kendall Sterling 7, Trinkle 7)

Turnovers: Seymour 15

Fouls: Seymour 10

Junior varsity

Seymour 42, New Albany 23

Seymour- Brown 19, Sydney Montgomery 5, Lexi Morris 3, Jaidyn Nichols 7, Claire Marshall 4, Hannah Dart 4