The Fayette girls scored the highest points as a team since at least 2009 on Friday night, banking 32 points in the second quarter to defeat winless South Callaway 71-46 at home.

The win marked Fayette’s second win in a row and fifth out of the last seven games. The Lady Falcons are now 8-8 overall and are on pace to finish the season with their best record since 2012, when the team finished 14-12.

The win came just a day after Fayette pulled off a come-from-behind victory over Brunswick, 53-51. Falcons’ coach Daryl Betts said he was pleased with how his team responded after the wild night on Thursday.

“For coming off the pandemonium less than 24 hours before, I thought our girls played very well,” Betts said. “We were happy with how we made the other team play in an out-of-control pace. We did give up some easy layups and corrected things as the game went on. Overall, we came and conquered.”

After playing to a 12-12 tie in the first quarter on Friday, Fayette turned in a blistering 32-point performance in the second quarter. The balanced attack had seven girls scoring at least two points each. Sophomore Lasaydra Jackman and Preslee Sunderland led the team with seven points apiece in the second period, each with a 3-pointer and two buckets from inside the arc.

“We forced a lot of early turnovers and got those turnovers to turn into easy baskets,” said Betts.

Leading 44-24 at halftime, Fayette continued to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring South Callaway 11-8 to cruise out to the 25-point win.

Jackman finished with nine points on the night; all scored in the second and third quarters. Sunderland followed with seven.

Freshman Browyn Eubanks had a stellar night with a game-high 16 points, 10 of which were scored in the first half. She knocked down one of the team’s three 3-pointers in the second quarter.

“Browyn Eubanks is just a phenomenal athlete who, as a freshman, is doing a great job maturing and helping us be successful,” said Betts. “She will be known as a phenomenal basketball player if she can continue to work on her skill sets and improve as the season progresses.”

Junior Maddox Wells turned in her best performance of the season with 12 points, including a 3-pointer in the first quarter.

“Maddox had an excellent game shooting the ball and getting to scoring spots,” Betts said. “Her on-court hustle is never questioned, and each game, she is improving.”

Fayette sank five 3-pointers on the night. One of those came from junior Addison Powell, who posted six points on the night. Junior Allie Spielbauer had seven points on the night, followed by junior Addie Huster with five on a 3-point basket and two free throws. Junior forward Kay Sullivan was 2-for-2 from the line with four points on the night. Senior Hannah Quint scored three points, all in the second quarter. Sophomore Melissa Innes rounded out 10 Fayette scorers with two points.

South Callaway, now 0-13 overall, was paced by sophomores Reagan Arrowood with 14 points and McKenzie Laughlin with 13.

Fayette returns to the court tonight as the seventh seed in the Harrisburg Tournament. The Lady Falcons will face second-seeded Hallsville, a Class 4 team that boasts a 12–3 overall record this season. The tournament is rife with some of the most formidable talent in Mid-Missouri, including Class 4 teams Centralia, Fulton, Mexico, and Blair Oaks, Class 3 Linn (10-5), along with fellow Class 2 team and Lewis & Clark Conference rival Harrisburg.

Coach Betts acknowledged the difficult task in front of his team on Monday night. “If we clean up some of the areas we need to improve, the opportunity is available to challenge ourselves against a district champion-level competitor. The girls are maturing to look at these tough games ahead and want to be challenged.”

Monday’s game tips off at 6 p.m. in the middle school gym. The winner will advance to the championship bracket at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the high school gym. The loser will fall to the consolation side of the bracket to play at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the middle school gym.