OLD FORT — On a night when defenses dominated the game, it was Carey’s ability to shoot the basketball that was the difference.

The Blue Devils hit six 3-point shots and made 17-of-34 shots for 50 percent, compared to just 10-of-45 for Colonel Crawford in a 49-32 Carey win in the lower bracket final of the Division III sectional tournament Saturday night at Old Fort High School.

With the win, Carey (17-7) advances to the district tournament at Shelby High School and will face second-seeded Hopewell-Loudon. Colonel Crawford bows out of the tournament at 15-8.

Carey coach Phil Vaughn said that his team not only shot the ball well but made big shots at critical points in the game.

“We had some opportune 3s that were hit and just shots in general at big times,” Vaughn said.

Colonel Crawford coach Kyle Fenner felt that the Lady Eagles’ inability to make shots hurt them.

“We had some looks,” Fenner said. “You’re not going to win a sectional championship shooting the ball like that.”

Crawford’s defense kept the Eagles in the game most of the way. Carey held an 8-5 lead after one period and led 21-13 at the half.

Colonel Crawford’s Allison Teglovic scored 10 of her game-high 16 points in the third period and trimmed the Carey lead to 31-26, entering the final frame.

The Eagles cut the lead to 31-28 early in the final period on a Jenna Maddy basket and trailed just 34-30 with 4:15 left on two free throws from Theresa Dzugan.

But Crawford scored just two points the rest of the way on a Teglovic follow.

“That’s kind of how we’re built, I guess,” Vaughn said of his team’s defense. “I think we give up an average of 34 points per game. So, we’re right there. We do that every night against some good teams. And (Colonel Crawford) is a team that runs their offense very disciplined. And we felt good about that end of the floor, for sure.”

Bailey Tanner paced Carey with 13 points and Alaina Tiell added 11.

“We had some doubters, you know,” Vaughn said about his team. “The same group was seven and 17 last year and, this year, we walked out of Seneca East losing by 20-some points. We’re four and four, wondering if we’re going to get two or three more wins. These girls buckled down and really have put together a good stretch of basketball.”

Fenner said that her team has been a solid defensive team all season.

“I told the kids, I won’t fault the effort,” Fenner said. “We played hard and we always play great defense. It was just a tough shooting night.”

Box score

Colonel Crawford     5      8     13      6 — 32

Carey                             8    13     10    18 — 49

Colonel Crawford (15-8): Shots 10-45; 3-pt. shots 1 (Allison Teglovic); Free throws 11-16; Rebounds24; Turnovers 8. Scoring: Theresa Dzugan 0 2 2, Ally Hocker 1 3 5, Jenna Maddy 3 0 6, Hannah Plesac 0 1 1, Kaylyn Risner 0 2 2, Allison Teglovic 6 3 16.

Carey (17-7): Shots 17-34; 3-pt. shots 6 (Bailey Tanner 3, Emmy Wood 2, Alaina Tiell); Free throws 9-11; Rebounds 33; Turnovers 10. Scoring: Ellison Roark 2 0 4, Alaina Tiell 2 6 11, Emmy Wood 2 0 6, Avarie Stewart 4 1 9, Bailey Tanner 4 2 13, Sadie Arend 3 0 6.