The Lady Colts ended their season Monday night in Dexter, battling back twice in the second half before finally falling to the Lady Demons 42-38 in the first round of the District 4-3A tournament.

It was also the last game for 18-year head coach Marisha Olesinski, who told her team last week before their last regular-season game, which was also in Dexter. Her squad rewarded her with a 33-28 road win, NMMI’s only district victory and just the third overall this season.

“You’re never happy that you lost, but I’m happy with the way we played,” said Olesinski. “They never give up. They always go out there trying to do the best they can and sometimes when you try too hard, it leads to mistakes, and a few of those caught up to us tonight. But we didn’t make it easy on them.”

The Lady Colts put up the first points of the night when senior forward Olive Amechi cleaned up senior guard Nickole Mendez’ miss, but the Lady Demons scored the next four and kept NMMI off the scoreboard until midway through the opening period.

Senior guard Alahana Picos nailed a jumper from the left wing to tie the game at 4-all, but Dexter answered quickly, then added to the lead at the free-throw line.

Amechi closed the gap to a point with a strong move in the paint, but a Ginessii Gomez 3-pointer gave the Lady Demons a 10-6 lead after a quarter.

The Lady Colts opened the second quarter with a Mendez three from the right wing before senior forward Emily Spaniel found junior forward Paulina Sanchez streaking toward the basket for a nifty bank shot to give NMMI an 11-10 lead.

But the Demons would end the half on a 13-4 run to take a commanding 23-15 lead into the locker room. Dexter scored the first points of the third quarter to take a 10-point lead, but the Lady Colts weren’t ready to give up on their season.

Picos found Amechi in the left short corner where she dribbled up the baseline and went up for the shot, absorbing the contact while sinking the bucket, and then converting the and-1 attempt. That sparked a 15-4 run to close the third.

Sophomore guard Carolina Meza had several crucial hustle plays during the comeback run, including a steal, a well-timed tie up and a smooth assist to Sanchez for the go-ahead bucket to give the Institute a 30-29 lead after three quarters.

The first six minutes of the final period belonged to the Lady Demons as the hosts went on a 10-0 run before Amechi put up the first Lady Colt points of the quarter at the free-throw line. Spaniel added two more with a bank shot from the low post to reduce the deficit to six.

After Dexter made one at the line, Picos was fouled and drained both freebies to cut the lead to five, but the Lady Demons completed a deep inbounds pass for a an easy lay in to take the lead back up to seven.

Picos nailed a 3-pointer to cut the lead to four and then got the ball back after a tie up, but with less than two seconds left, time had run out on the Lady Colts.

Amechi led all scorers with 18 points and five rebounds. Picos had seven points, with five coming in the fourth quarter. Spaniel added six points and pulled down four boards. Sanchez had four points and three rebounds and Mendez hit a second-quarter 3-pointer and rebounded four balls.

After the game, holding flowers and getting hugs from her players, Olesinski reflected on a season and a career where the wins were hard to come by, but the connections were meaningful.

“We have our challenges to overcome at the Institute, but also great opportunities and the chance to really be a big part of kids’ lives,” she said. “I hope they will remember their time on the team fondly, and it’s just a game. But it’s a game that teaches you to be tough, it teaches leadership and teamwork.”

“By next week, nobody will remember the score here tonight. But they will remember their time together. And so will I.”