The third-seeded Harrisburg girls came away from their own tournament with a third-place trophy on Saturday after defeating fifth-seeded Blair Oaks 47-37. The Lady Bulldogs fell short of the championship game after losing a nine-point decision to second-seeded Fayette in the semifinals, following an easy dispatch of sixth-seeded Hallsville in the opener.

For Harrisburg coach Ryan Richardson, the game will be the last time he will coach a team in the Harrisburg Tournament. After seven years leading the team, he announced just before the tournament that he would leave Harrisburg to be the new Activities Director in Hallsville next year. He said it was special to win a trophy in his last tournament game on Coach Combs Court, especially after falling to Blair Oaks in the third-place game a year ago.

“It’s the first time we’ve brought a trophy home from our own tournament,” Richardson said. “It’s a tournament that has really flourished in the last three years. It means a lot going out.”

For the third-place trophy, Harrisburg knew not to underestimate Blair Oaks based on its record. The fifth-seeded Lady Falcons won their first game of the season in the opening round of the tournament, 49-37, over fourth-seeded Linn, then played top-seeded Centralia within eight points in the semis.

“Blair Oaks is a team that knows how to win,” Richardson said. “They’ve played the most brutal schedule in the state of Missouri.”

All but three of the Falcons’ opponents leading up to the tournament have been state-ranked teams. “Their record does not indicate what kind of a team they are,” he added.

Harrisburg also knew they had to contain Falcons’ power forward Autumn Bax. Richardson called the tall senior “the biggest mismatch in Mid-Missouri.” With five double-doubles already this season, she is a threat any time she steps on the court.

But Harrisburg kept the ball out of Bax’s hands for most of the first half. She finished with a team-high 10 points, all scored in the second half. 

“What we were able to do to her was special,” Richards said. “We had a game plan. We were going to front and back her everywhere she went. And we had some other wrinkles in the game plan that allowed us to do that. The stars aligned. The girls really knew the game plan and were motivated for this win.”

Richardson said the plan was to establish an early lead. And that’s just what the Lady Bulldogs did. Harrisburg quickly rattled off seven points in two minutes and capped off a 12-1 run with a jumper by senior Emma Fischer.

Harrisburg’s zone defense allowed just three points in the first quarter, all from the free-throw line. Blair Oaks was prepared to score from the arc, but every shot bounced wide. 

The second quarter was more of the same for Blair Oaks. Misses from the 3-point arc continued a string of unfulfilled scoring promises, lowlighted by the banality of fruitless trips to the line. Luckily for the Falcons, Harrisburg also struggled in the low-scoring second period, sinking just one basket and missing all four free throws.

After losing a dismal second quarter 4-2, Harrisburg went into the break maintaining a double-digit lead, 17-7.

To the gratitude of all those watching, offenses for both teams perked up in the second half. Blair Oaks scored the first five points of the third quarter to cut Harrisburg’s lead to seven points. Following a free throw, Blair Oaks made the rest of its points from the arc, finally connecting on the long ball three times at the end of the quarter. 

But Harrisburg strung together a couple of short runs with a pair of threes from junior Macie Ellis midway through to stay on top by double-digits.

Leading 32-21 to start the final period, Harrisburg extended its lead, outscoring BO 4-2 in the opening minutes. Those points would prove exceptionally valuable to Harrisburg after the Falcons went on a bit of a scoring bonanza with an 11-3 run that included six points from Bax. Junior Bria Boessen sank a 3-point basket midway through the period to cut Harrisburg’s lead to just five points.

“Great teams find ways to make shots eventually. We had to make sure we jumped on them early and built that lead,” Richardson said. “We knew they were going to go on a run. It was a matter of where we would be when they went on that run.”

The Bulldogs responded with a pair of 2-point baskets and stayed alive in the final two minutes on 4-for-8 free-throw shooting. 

Blair Oaks finally gave up the proverbial ghost, declining to foul in the last 60 seconds, allowing Harrisburg to run the clock and walk away with the 10-point win.

Harrisburg finished with three players in double-figures. Fischer led the way with 15 points after a powerful 13-point second-half performance. Ellis added 13 points with a pair of 3-point shots in the third quarter. Abby Rosson posted 12 points after scoring eight of the team’s 15 first-quarter points.

Richardson said he was proud of his two seniors leading the charge for the third-place win. His announcement to leave the district came shortly before the start of the tournament, and Fischer and Rosson ignited a new passion in the team.

“Those girls are motivated to go out,” Richardson said. “When I made the announcement that I was leaving, they were the first ones to reach out and say, ‘We’re going to cherish the rest of the season with you and go out together on a positive note’. I think there’s a whole new meeting to the season and a whole new motivation. You’re scared as a coach when you make an announcement like that. They’ve embraced it. And I can’t thank this team enough. We’re going to go out on a positive note.”

Now 10-8 overall, the Lady Bulldogs hope to carry that fire through the final stretch of the season and into the district tournament in February. Harrisburg jumps back into Lewis & Clark Conference play with bouts against two below-.500 teams this week. On Tuesday, after the Advertiser went to press, they made the long trip to Knox County. They return home to face Paris on Thursday.