One week after suffering a five-point upset at the hands of New Franklin in the opening round of the Glasgow Tournament, the Fayette girls responded with a decisive 42-25 win at New Franklin on Tuesday.

Fayette coach Daryl Betts said his team did not play its best on November 28. “We should have won that game. We just overplayed a bit. They’re a good team, and they’re well-coached,”

Betts said his team needed to do two things well in the rematch: prevent New Franklin star Lily Chitwood from shooting threes all night and control the boards. “The big thing we talked about was containing Chitwood. Tonight, I thought her offensive and defensive rebounding was way better than last time.”

Fayette switched up their defensive strategy. Six-foot junior Oakleigh Hill was assigned to guard Chitwood.

“Oakleigh is more of a technical defender than an aggressive defender. And her length gets in the way. I thought she did an excellent job,” Betts said.

Chitwood is New Franklin’s leading scorer and is one of the premier shooters in Mid-Missouri. Despite drawing the attention of Fayette’s defense, she still managed to score a game-high 17 points with three steals, three rebounds, and an assist. The sophomore scored all eight of the team’s points in the first quarter with a field goal and two 3-pointers. She also scored nine of New Franklin’s 16 points second-half points.

Tuesday’s game served as a homecoming of sorts for Falcon junior KeBrea Fair. She made the 10-mile transfer to Fayette this year after playing her first two seasons as a Lady Bulldog.

“I think she was excited about winning the game,” Betts said. “Obviously, she knows a lot of people over here, so she was talking to a lot of the other players and other teammates.”

Fair finished the game with six points and nine rebounds. She was one of two Fayette forwards tasked with controlling the boards. Fayette senior Kay Sullivan added a team-best 12 boards.

“KeBrea and Kay were just animals down there and worked hard,” Betts said.

After battling to an 8-8 tie late in the fourth quarter, Sullivan scored to put Fayette in front by two. She then posted up a shot in the final second to give the Lady Falcons a 12-8 lead after one quarter.

The Lady Falcons separated themselves in the second quarter, outscoring New Franklin 12 -5. Fayette went up by five quickly in the second, but New Franklin sophomore Lydia Burnett sank her first of two 3-pointers to cut the lead to two just points.

But Fayette held the Lady Bulldogs to just one basket over the last half of the quarter while embarking on a 10-2 run, ignited by a three from Hill with 4:30 left in the half. Another three by freshman sharpshooter Addy Gibbs pushed Fayette’s lead to 13 points.

A putback by sophomore Canna Jennings with 22 seconds left cut Fayette’s lead to 24-13 at halftime.

“Tonight seemed to be one of those games that our young group needs to learn a lot from,” said New Franklin coach Parker Gross. “This was our fourth tough ball game in eight days. We came out flat and never quite found the level of energy and competitive fire that you need in a game like this.”

New Franklin won half of its games in those eight days and claimed the third-place trophy at the Glasgow Tournament.

Betts credits a zone defense for allowing his team to stretch out the lead in the second quarter. “We threw that 1-3-1 out there, and that was a charm for us. It really affected them to where they weren’t getting anything inside.”

New Franklin adjusted to Fayette’s defensive scheme in the second half, forcing Betts to revert to man-to-man in the second half.

The Lady Bulldogs had their best quarter of the night, outscoring Fayette 11-9 in the third. Chitwood buried her third 3-pointer of the night 66 into the half. Burnett also sank her second from behind the arc.

Fayette stayed ahead in the third from strong inside play and transition points. Fair posted up four of her six points in the period, along with layups by senior Addison Powell and sophomore Browyn Eubanks, who drew the foul and sank a bonus free throw.

Their aggressive defensive style meant the Falcons were whistled with the majority of the foul calls. They were without their starting point guard for early minutes in the final period after Gibbs picked up her fourth just 11 seconds in.

New Franklin took advantage. With 5:29 on the clock, Chitwood cut the deficit to six points with a layup. Half a minute later, Burnett sank a long jump shot from the left side to make it a four-point game.

But the rally wouldn’t last. The Lady Bulldogs would just score one more point when Chitwood would convert the first of two free-throw tries.

Fayette extended its lead with layups by Hill and Eubanks. Hill then knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put Fayette back in front by double-digits.

“Oakleigh did a really good job stepping up. She hit that three, and that was big time,” Betts said.

The Falcons would go on to win 42-29.

“There were still some things that we did well at times, and we battled back in the fourth quarter to within four at one point but fell short in the end,” Gross said. “Our young team is working hard and improving day in and day out, and we’ll look to use tonight as a learning experience moving forward.”

Chitwood’s 17 points led all scorers. Burnett followed with eight points and three rebounds for New Franklin. Although sophomore Skylar Shaw didn’t score, she remained a significant presence inside, pulling down a team-high 12 rebounds and dishing out one assist. Jennings added three points and six boards.

New Franklin, now 3-2, will host a winless Madison team at 6 p.m. on Friday. Next week the Lady Bulldogs travel to Slater and Tuscumbia before returning home for a rematch with Harrisburg on December 18. New Franklin won the last matchup between the two Bulldog teams 52-26 for the third-place trophy at the Glasgow Tournament.

New Franklin closes out 2023 and rings in the new year at its own tournament, which opens on December 30.

Hill led seven Fayette scorers with 13 points, nine of which came from behind the arc. She also pulled down three rebounds.

Eubanks finished with seven points and seven rebounds after being relegated to the bench for significant minutes in foul trouble.

“New Franklin is a technical team, so you’re not getting those easy looks,” Betts said. “I told her that her success happens in big bursts. And then she goes in and gets two straight steals.”

Sullivan posted six points, all in the first quarter. She controlled the paint with a team-high 12 rebounds.

Fair finished with six points in her return to the outstanding New Franklin gym and pulled down nine crucial rebounds.

“She’s a fierce competitor and super strong,” Betts said. “And she’s one of the nicest kids I know. The sky’s the limit for her. This game is a big game for her confidence. It was really special that we got to come back to New Franklin and play a great game. She had big stops at the end of the game for us.”

Fayette is now 3-1 overall and takes its game to the biggest stage in the state Friday with a bout against Class 5 Helias Catholic at the Norm Stewart Classic in Mizzou Arena.

“It’s going to be a big gut check. But it’s going to be an awesome experience,” Betts said. “It’s a state championship venue. We’re playing the state-caliber team. We will learn a lot about physicality and speed. We’re going to go out there, and I think we’re going to do a lot of good things. We’re going to compete to win that game.”

Friday’s game tips off at 10 a.m.