BEDFORD —Most teams staring into the eyes of a 23-point deficit would lay back, roll over and call it a night.
Columbus East chose to stand tall, puff out its chest and go down fighting before ultimately falling to Bedford North Lawrence 60-45 in a Hoosier Hills Conference contest.
With a 6-5 lead early in the first quarter, the Stars began running a full-court press. The Olympians turned the ball over on three straight possessions. That ultimately would turn into to a 12-0 Bedford North Lawrence run.
The suffocating defense by the Stars continued into the second quarter, as the East guards were often unable to often set up the offense.
After a lopsided first half, in which the Stars lead by 19, the Olympians came out scraping in the third quarter. Running a 2-3 zone, they were able to slow down the offensive attack of Bedford North Lawrence.
The Stars, led by freshman Jorie Allen, were dominant on the low post. With the paint shut down by East defenders in the second half, Bedford North Lawrence was forced to score its points from the outside.
Down 46-23 with just more than five minutes remaining in the third, the Olympians toughened up on the defensive end, forcing three Stars turnovers that led to points on the offensive end.
After ending the third quarter on a 8-2 run, sophomore Addy Galarno hit a 3-pointer on East’s first possession of the fourth, cutting the lead to 14. Galarno went on to sink two more 3-pointers, ultimately leading the charge for the Olympians with 22 points.
After allowing 36 first-half points, East held Bedford North Lawrence to 24 in the second half. The Olympians were able to cut the lead to 54-41 with 4:15 left to play, its lowest deficit since the first quarter but were unable to claw back any more.
Senior Audrey Wetzel helped lead the charge on both sides of the court for the Olympians in the second half and finished with 18 points.
