The Carmi-White County Girls Basketball team took their first conference loss of the season Tuesday night, falling to Edwards County 45-38 on the road.
Things actually started off pretty well for the Lady Bulldogs, they led 10-5 after the first quarter and went into halftime tied up at 19. The game felt like it could swing either way at that point, with both teams trading turnovers and missed shots but also finding small runs to stay even.
Then the third quarter shifted the whole momentum. Edwards County’s Lola Nussmeyer got hot in a hurry, scoring 10 points in that quarter alone. Carmi suddenly found themselves down 31-24 in the final seconds of the quarter, but a Caroline Simmons three-pointer at the buzzer cut the Lions’ lead to 31-27 heading into the 4th.
Carmi had a few good defensive stands and a couple of chances to make it interesting, but they just couldn’t string together enough makes to get over the hump.
Caroline Simmons led the way for Carmi with 14 points, and Addi Elliott added 11. Jaya Smith and Natalie Goemaat each scored 4, Torrie Rider had 3, and Eva Attebury chipped in 2.
With the loss, the Lady Bulldogs drop to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in Black Diamond Conference play. Carmi will try to bounce back quickly as they return home on Saturday to host Harrisburg at McDougal-Evers Gymnasium. JV tips off at noon, with varsity starting around 1:30 PM.