Ottawa ? Ottawa High’s girls basketball team didn’t go down without a fight.

“We played with more guts and more heart than we have all season long,” Ottawa coach Cliff McCullough said. “They wouldn’t quit.”

The Cyclones had a solid second half, but the first half haunted them in a 52-44 loss to Blue Valley in the first round of sub-state.

Ottawa (13-8) could not overcome 7-for-25, first-half shooting performance– including a 2-for-10 showing in the first quarter.

“I think we were pretty nervous,” McCullough said. “I thought we had a lot of jitters. I told them at halftime to put the butterflies away.”

The Tigers (7-14) were only 9-for-24 from the field in the first half, but managed to build a 27-17 lead going to halftime with consistent free-throw shooting and three three-pointers.

Ottawa — usually a productive perimeter team — was 0-for-11 on three-point tries.

Raeann Tharp, Ottawa’s lone senior, had a team-high eight points to go with a steal and five rebounds.

“I told her, ‘What a way to go out,'” McCullough said.

Blue Valley 52, Ottawa 44

Blue Valley 12 15 12 13 — 52

Ottawa 5 12 10 17 — 44

Blue Valley — Lauren Heist 12, Melissa Stevens 12, Kaley Miller 11, Katie Joens 10, Kenzie Ziegler 7.

Ottawa — Raeann Tharp 8, Caitlin Smith 7, Megan Ramsey 7, Kelsie Studley 6, Jara Vance 5, Mallory Geist 4, Karessa Lewis 3, Sara Spratt 2, Kelsey Chaney 2.