After failing to get a good look at the tying shot, Abby Maupin put her head down and took the ball to the basket and drew a foul as her shot went in.

“I was nervous,” Maupin said about her game-tying free-throw attempt. “Whenever I’m exhausted, it hurts me because I can’t make them.”

She made the biggest one of her career, and New Franklin made six more in overtime to beat the Lady Hounds 43-40, advancing to the tournament final.

This was a hard-fought win, well deserved,” New Franklin coach Morgan Vetter said.

“I appreciate their heart and energy, this group is getting better day by day.”

While the game had an exciting finish, the beginning was pretty rough for both teams offensively. New Franklin was held scoreless for over four minutes before Campbell Cooper made a shot to tie the game at 2-2. The first quarter ended with New Franklin trailing 7-4.

Addy Salmon scored the first two buckets of the second quarter to give New Franklin the lead. Kristen Flick broke a 10-10 tie with a pair of free throws. Maupin stole the ball and scored, followed by another basket from Salmon. Faith Painter had the final points of the half to give New Franklin an 18-10 advantage.

In the second half, the teams traded runs. Sweet Springs took the lead with a 9-0 run, Salmon had five points during an 8-0 run for New Franklin, then the Lady Hounds made five free throws during a 7-0 run to take a late 32-30 lead.

Salmon and Flick each had game-tying layups down the stretch before Sweet Springs notched a 3-point play to set up Maupin’s clutch shot.

Maupin finished with 15 points, while Salmon led New Franklin with 16.   

Community 61, New Franklin 30

On Friday, New Franklin lost in the tournament final to top seeded Community 61-30. The Trojans, who are ranked third in the state, led just 15-12 early in the second quarter, but closed the half on a 19-4 run.

Addy Salmon scored New Franklin’s first six points of the second half to keep the Lady Bulldogs within 22, but the Trojans went up 55-26 late in the third quarter with a 7-0 run.

Salmon finished with 11 points. Carly Dorson and Abby Maupin each scored seven and Kristen Flick had four.

New Franklin 38, Sturgeon 18

The New Franklin girls shut out Sturgeon in the opening quarter on the way to a 38-18 win in their first-round game on Tuesday.

New Franklin took an 11-0 lead after one quarter and kept the Sturgeon Bulldogs off of the scoreboard for the first nine minutes of play.

“This was a great win coming back from break,” New Franklin coach Morgan Vetter said. “I’m proud of the girls’ energy and heart in this one.

“Defensively we played much better and offensively we looked to attack much more.”

Kristen Flick scored six early points as New Franklin took a 13-3 lead. Flick added a free throw in the third quarter to finish with seven.

Abby Maupin scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half as New Franklin took a 22-4 lead into the half. Addy Salmon had the final bucket of the third quarter, which increased the lead to 34-9.

“I think that we ran the plays better than usual, and we were patient and waited for the ball movement,” Salmon said.

The New Franklin crowd received an energy boost from the Central Methodist women’s basketball team. The New Franklin team attended a CMU basketball game earlier in the season and the Eagles returned the favor on Tuesday. The Eagle players were enthusiastic and vocal in their support and electrified the atmosphere in the Bulldog gym.

“It was great, they kept us hyped the whole game,” Salmon said. “We could hear them while we were on the court, and it helped a lot with our energy.”

Salmon finished with five points. Kelsi Fair and Carly Dorson each scored four.