MERIDIAN — Century’s streak of state tournament success was going to end eventually.

Going into this season, the Diamondbacks rode a six-game winning streak at state, with two 4A titles to show for it. While they failed in their first step toward clinching their third straight, the conclusion of the successful streak was met with fight from Century, which was dealt a 56-49 first-round loss to Bishop Kelly (19-7) on Thursday at Mountain View High School.

“We didn’t give up today,” said Diamondbacks guard Katie Hiller, who scored a team-high 13 points. “We’re not going to give up tomorrow, either. We’re just going to fight through it.”

Century (15-8) plays Friday against Skyview in the 4A consolation semifinals, the part of the bracket it tried with all of its might to avoid.

The Diamondbacks were down 10 after a Bishop Kelly three-point play with 5 minutes, 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but chipped away at the deficit and got a pivotal play from an unsung player. Century sophomore Olivia Holt thought about taking a shot for more than a second before hurling a contested 3-pointer into the basket. All of a sudden, Century was within one possession, 50-47, with 1:49 left in the game.

But the best player on the floor Thursday put a stop to the momentum swing. Knights forward Theresa Reeping, who scored a season-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, made a contested layup to increase the margin to five. When Century guard Emily Packham hit a midrange basket with 1:22 left, Reeping answered again by somehow getting open down low for a gimmie basket to sap the last bit of energy out of her opponent.

Looking back on the game, there were a number of things the Diamondbacks could pinpoint as reasons for their defeat. They were 14 of 28 from the free-throw line, plus, the Knights drew fouls on two instrumental players, Hiller and Chinma Njoku, who both collected their fourth fouls in the third quarter.

“’We tried to be aggressive, get to the paint and wanted to make their big girl have to defend to see if we could get her in foul trouble,” Bishop Kelly coach Derek McCormick said of Njoku. “If she plays the whole game, you’re in trouble.”

Bishop Kelly also made Century’s offense clunky by gluing itself to Diamondback ball handlers, especially in the first half when Century had 12 turnovers, including one on a five-second call.

“They were overplaying us,” D-backs coach Chris Shuler said. “It took us out of rhythm a little bit on some of our wings and not getting open. ... Once we settled down, then we were OK.”

But it was too late. Now, Century is off to the consolation bracket, where it went two-and-out in its last appearance in 2014.

“It stings,” Shuler said. “Let’s see how we can bounce back. We’ve got another game tomorrow. It’s a new day.”

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