For the second consecutive year, the Talawanda girls basketball team saw a promising season doomed by a slow start in the Division II district finals.

Dayton Carroll stormed out to an 11-0 lead and held off all the charges by the Braves to capture the district championship 43-41 before a packed house at Mason High School.

“As much as you prepare for this game mentally, it had to be on the girls’ minds that we lost here last year,” Talawanda coach Kim Richter said. “We have played some good teams this season but Carroll takes it to the next level.”

Talawanda, the Southwest Ohio Conference champion, finished 24-1. The Braves set a school record for victories and entered the contest ranked No. 2 in the state Division II poll.

“We had an amazing season,” Richter said. “From day one, our team was united, like sisters, and their unity allowed them to go as far as they did.”

Senior Susan Wollenhaupt had a game-high 17 points for Carroll, which improved to 21-5. The Patriots have won 16 of their last 17 and advance to the regionals for the third consecutive season.

Junior Megan Richardson led the Braves with 11 points while Brilyn Webb added nine. Talawanda’s leading scorer, Ana Richter, managed 10 points and 10 rebounds but was mostly held in check by a box-and-one defense.

“We prepared for the box-and-one as we knew they would throw it at us,” Richter said. “It actually helped us. Our offense was able to open up..”

The Braves trailed 30-22 after three quarters and still faced a 35-24 deficit before making a late run. Talawanda cut the lead to six three times, four at 42-38 with six seconds left and finally two when Brilyn Webb nailed a triple at the buzzer to complete the scoring.

Carroll was able to offset a poor-shooting second half (3-of-13) by making 14-of-19 from the charity stripe. For the game, Carroll hit 11-of-31 from the field but 18-of-25 from the foul line proved too much for Talawanda to overcome.

In addition to the Patriots’ free throws, Talawanda was undone by its own poor shooting, hitting 3-of-16 from the field in the first half. The Braves’ comeback was spurred by a 9-of-19 shooting effort in the final two quarters.