The North Callaway girls’ defense rose to the challenge against a state-caliber offense Monday, but the offense couldn’t keep up.

The Ladybirds faced Harrisburg on Monday in the first round of the Centralia Invitational Tournament, losing 45-32. The Lady Bulldogs were averaging 63.5 points through four games and have received votes in the Class 2 state poll but were held to less than 50 points for the first time this season. North Callaway, however, finished 26 percent from the field and had a cold streak to start the fourth quarter.

Head coach Tim Turlington said North Callaway (1-3) was in it for much of the game as the Ladybirds were within five points in the second quarter and then were down only two points in the third quarter, but poor shooting allowed Harrisburg (5-0) to gain firm control.

“We went cold,” Turlington said. “We probably went six or seven empty trips (in a row). That was it. You can’t do that. It’s not like we’re taking bad shots. It’s just not going down. A lot of stuff around the crease but just not finishing.”

Natalie Shryock led North Callaway with 10 points, six rebounds and two 3-pointers, Riley Blevins had nine points on three 3-pointers along with two steals, and Abrielle Burgher finished with seven points — all in the second half — and seven rebounds.

The biggest problem on Harrisburg’s side for the Ladybirds was Carli Ellis as she recorded a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds while blocking seven shots. Brecca Thornhill followed with 11 points and five steals, and Abby Rosson had six points and six rebounds.

Turlington said Ellis was clearly a problem for the Ladybirds when they drove to the rim most of the time, but they need to adjust accordingly.

“(Ellis) is a good player, but we’re taking it in there kind of easy — not really planting our feet, get our hips under us, follow through, and stuff like that,” Turlington said. “We’re playing around the rim. What we thought she was going to block affected us a lot. We just have to be more solid around the basket.”

Harrisburg scored some early transition buckets before capping the first quarter with a buzzer beater from Ellis, making it 14-6 Harrisburg after one.

North Callaway started making more of a dent into the Lady Bulldogs’ lead in the second quarter when it hit a bit of a hot streak from beyond the arc. Shryock and Blevins combined to knock down three straight 3-pointers to bring the Ladybirds within five points with about three minutes left in the quarter.

The lead was cut to two points in the third quarter after Burgher showed that aggressiveness at the rim Turlington was referring to as she converted on two layups in traffic.

“AB saw some stuff tonight that we talk to her about all the time,” Turlington said. “I tell her to shoot more — always telling her to shoot more because she can shoot it. For some reason, she just doesn’t have that confidence in herself at this time. I’ve got confidence in her so it’s good to see her go to the rack and get some buckets. Hopefully, that will kickstart her play from there.”

Harrisburg did find some clutch plays in the third quarter to ward off the comeback as Macie Ellis knocked down a 3-pointer, Thornhill scored off her steal and Carli Ellis split the Ladybird rebounders for an offensive putback to help give Harrisburg a 33-26 lead after three quarters.

Ellis began picking up the blocks in bunches in the fourth quarter, and North Callaway was scoreless through the first three minutes. Blevins broke up the cold streak with a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound and assist from Shryock. Harrisburg, though, was ahead 40-29 at that point.

“It wasn’t that (Harrisburg) was scoring at a great clip, but they would score a bucket here and a bucket there,” Turlington said. “They just built, and we didn’t.”

North Callaway plays in the consolation bracket at 9 p.m. tonight against Eastern Missouri Conference foe Van-Far (1-3), who lost to Centralia on Monday. The loser is eliminated from the tournament.