NorthWood’s girls golf team takes a team picture at the IHSAA State Finals at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. The Lady Panthers set numerous program lows on the way to a 10th place finish over two days at the elite meet. (Photo courtesy of NorthWood Athletics)

CARMEL — NorthWood’s record-breaking girls golf team closed out a banner season on a fitting note Saturday.

The Lady Panthers held off Hamilton Southeastern to finish 10th after two rounds at the IHSAA State Finals in Carmel. After setting a new program-low with a 354 during Friday’s opening round, the Panthers fired a 343 at Prairie View Saturday to finish with a cumulative score of 694, another program-best at the big meet. Evansville North carded a 297 to snap a tie with Zionsville and claim the team title with a 605 over the two rounds, while the Eagles placed second with a 612.

“We played 11 shots better than we did on Friday so that record stood for about 24 hours,” said NorthWood coach Adam Yoder with a laugh.

“We couldn’t ask for more. The kids did an awesome job of keeping their composure and knowing they were playing the hard holes first, and at the end of the day they added them up and it was a great score for us.”

NorthWood teed off on the back nine and faced a tough stretch in the early going with two of the most challenging holes at Prairie View within the first four holes. But the Panthers kept their heads through the early grind to scratch out a 180 at the turn, then shaved a full 17 strokes off that total on the front side on the way to their top 10 finish. That front side stretch included a trio of birdies as part of a five-birdie day, the fifth best among any team at this year’s finals.

“This team looked like they belong in a state finals,” said Yoder. “From the tee shots off the first tees, the way they kept their composure, the fact that we were fifth in the field in birdies, they felt like they were good enough to be on that stage, and that was just so rewarding for our staff and our administration. We went down there and not only played in the state finals but also played well in the state finals, and that’s a thing that they’ll never forget.”

Freshman Cybil Stillson led the team with a 3-over-par 75 Saturday, five strokes better than her opening round Friday. Both Saturday’s score and Stillson’s two-day score of 155 were program records at the state meet and left her in a tie for 13th place on the individual leaderboard. They also netted her IHSGCA All-State accolades at the close of her first high school season.

“Cybil, what she did this year is just amazing,” said Yoder. “We have some great junior golfers in our state. A lot of those girls that made the All-State team are freshmen, so she’s going to be battling it out for several years with them.”

Seniors MacKenzie Weaver and Abby Slabaugh turned in respective scores of 87 and 93, meanwhile, and finished at 175 and 176, respectively, over the two days in Carmel. Slabaugh’s round included an even-par score over the two holes that have given her the most trouble at Prairie View — on the par 5 13th and par 4 ninth — while Weaver battled back from a 10-over start through seven holes to close out her high school career at 5 over par over the last 11 holes.

“After nine, one thing we talked to her about was she was just being awful careful with her putting. She was trying to just (lay) it up there and leaving everything short,” explained Yoder of Weaver’s round Saturday. “That was causing her some problems, but on the second nine she was much more aggressive and so composed and did an outstanding job.”

Subbing in the lineup for Delaney Davis Saturday, junior Kirsten Schrock carded a 93 to complete NorthWood’s team score, and fellow junior Makenna Gall carded 106 replacing freshman Breanna Goss after Friday’s first round.

Saturday’s round was not only a fitting bookend to the best season in NorthWood girls golf history but also to the careers of Weaver and Slabaugh. Both were freshmen the last time the Lady Panthers made it to state as a team in 2015 (although Weaver made the individual cut as a junior last fall), and their leadership is evident in the growth that the team has displayed since then after finishing 15th with a 761 score at that 2015 finale.

“I can’t say enough about our seniors. What these seniors did over the last four seasons to take us from a team that can get to state to now a team that can go to state and compete is mind-blowing. And there are so many people involved in that — teachers, coaches, administration, parents — that we just couldn’t be more thankful for those two kids and all the support we get,” said Yoder.

“We talk a lot about history in our program. We talk a lot about past teams and what they did and what they built on and how can we improve that. What I told this group was winning is fun, doing well is fun, there’s no question about that, but this group and their ability to love each other and support each other no matter how they may have individually played was just something that was so special.”

Culver Girls Academy closed its own banner season with a 343 to finish in eighth place with a 689 two-day total meanwhile Saturday. Sophomore Reese Wilson shot a 6-over-78 and finished ninth on the individual leaderboard with a two-day total of 152. Lucy Pugh and Masako Hatano both carded 87s, Amanda Kurteff shot 91, and Katie Shin finished in 97.

Westfield junior Jocelyn Bruch turned in a 75 after firing an unbelievable 68 Friday to win the individual medal with a 143, six strokes better than Fort Wayne Luers’ Madeleine Pape and Evansville North’s Katelyn Skinner.