TERRE HAUTE- The two girls basketball teams that celebrated semi state championships in Warsaw came up short Saturday in their bids to capture state championships.

The 38th edition of the IHSAA girls basketball state tournament came to a close Saturday with the crowning of four state champions in the Hulman Center on the Indiana State University campus.

Fort Wayne South Side, the team that topped the host Tigers 47-44 in the Class 4-A semi state contest Feb. 23 in the Tiger Den, lost 54-51 to undefeated and No. 2 Bedford North Lawrence in the title game Saturday night.

Eastern (Greentown), whose star Brittany Neeley put on a record-setting show in the Warsaw Semistate, lost 62-42 to No. 1 Evansville Mater Dei in the Class 2-A state championship contest.

BNL completed a perfect 28-0 season by edging South Side in a closely-contested affair. The championship was the third for BNL, which also won state titles in 1983 and 1991. Sophomore Alexa Bailey led the champions with 19 points. Bailey is the daughter of former BNL legend and IU star Damon Bailey. The elder Bailey, the state’s all-time leading scorer is an assistant coach for the BNL girls team.

South, making its first-ever state finals appearance, had lost by 24 points to BNL in a regular-season contest.  Ariana Simmons, an IPFW recruit and one of three senior starters, led South with 21 points and 11 rebounds in the title game.

Mater Dei had no trouble crushing the Comets of Eastern in the 2-A title game to win its second straight state title. Mater Dei finishes at 28-2.

Brittany Neeley, a senior guard, had 16 points to lead No. 6 Eastern. Neeley had poured in 48 points, a semi state record and the fourth highest tournament total ever in girls play, in a 74-55 semi state win over Fort Wayne Luers.   Neeley, who will run track and cross country at IU, also won the prestigious Mental Attitude Award on Saturday. Her twin sister Bethany, who will also run track and cross country at IU, had eight points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s loss.

No. 1 Fort Wayne Canterbury won its second straight Class 1-A state title by beating No. 4 Vincennes Rivet 42-35. The Cavaliers, who finish at 25-3, have won five of the last six 1-A state championships.

No. 6 Mt. Vernon (Fortville) topped No. 2 Hamilton Heights 61-47 to claim the Class 3-A state title. Freshman Sydney Shelton led the champions with 29 points and hit five 3-pointers. The win avenged a 70-61 regular-season loss.