Photo by Kristin Mazgaj Shadyside’s Tory Hendershot takes the ball up the court during the Division IV state semifinal game against Ottoville on Friday.

COLUMBUS — The cliche that ‘all good things must come to an end’ reared its ugly head once again Friday afternoon.

The Shadyside basketball team dealt with the cruel reality against Ottoville inside the Jerome Schottenstein Center in their Division IV state semifinal game on the Ohio State University campus.

Simply unable to overcome a second quarter in which they were outscored 12-5, the Tigers saw their fourth trip to the state tournament come to an abrupt halt, 50-43, at hands of the Green, who will take on Minster this evening in a rematch of the 2018 title game.

“Obviously it hurts to lose, but I couldn’t be any more proud of a group than I am of this team,” Shadyside coach Serge Gentile said. “I definitely can’t fault the effort we showed out there (Friday).

“We fought the entire game, and I knew we would, but Ottoville made a few more plays.”

Many of those plays occurred during the second quarter when the Tigers were bitten by the turnover bug and only registered five points.

“They had us on our heels a little bit (in the second quarter),” Gentile said. “In looking at the stats, they had 16 points off turnovers and many of those were in the second quarter, which got them a lead. There were times when we quit attacking and we were just too hesitant and we’re not a good team when we’re hesitant.”

The Ottoville lead actually swelled to as many as 11 in the early moments of the third quarter when Urbana-bound senior Kasey Knippen hit a trey. However, Shadyside showed the same level of resilience and grit that it displayed during its two regional games when it endured a rough first quarter.

In the first half, standout sophomore Baylee Wach — a third-team All-Ohioan — kept the Tigers in it with 12 points, all of which came on shots from behind the arc. She would finish with five treys, which set an OHSAA State Tournament record for Division IV.

More of her teammates came alive in the second half. Senior Sydnie Destifanes supplied a much-needed spark with five in the third quarter

The Tigers got within three in the latter portion of the third quarter when Wach, who led the Tigers with 17, got a rebound and putback.

However, the Tigers’ momentum was relatively short lived. Ottoville closed the third with a 7-0 spurt, pushing the margin back to 10.

“Our pressure defense allowed us to get back in the game, but they just hit a few more shots than we did and sometimes that’s how it happens,” Gentile said. “Maybe if we had a little bit better second quarter, we would have had a little bit better outcome, but that’s all part of it.”

With its back planted firmly to the wall, the Tigers didn’t go away quietly.

Ottoville had a 40-31 lead in the middle of the fourth when Shadyside went on a 7-2 spurt, which allowed them to get within four. Sophomore Tory Hendershot, who struggled from the field early in the game, got going. She scored six of those points and finished with 10 in the game.

The Green, however, kept the Tigers from getting any closer by knocking down their foul shots, including a sharp 4 of 4 effort from Quinley Schlagbaum.

“We were gambling a little bit in the second half when we went to that press and when you do that, you’re going to give up some open looks,” Gentile said. “Maybe we got a little tired when we didn’t get back and gave up a layup. We almost had it to a (one) possession game, but just couldn’t quite get over the hump.”

Wach’s production, which also included a game-high eight rebounds, was complemented by Destifanes’ 15. Hendershot finished with 12 and five rebounds.

Ottoville, which is now 25-3, was led by Knippen’s 20. Haley Hoersten added nine.