The Fayette girls entered Thursday night’s district tournament semifinal in Glasgow against Westran on a hot streak. The Lady Falcons had won five of their last seven games, including the upset victory over Salisbury in Tuesday’s tournament opener. Time ran out as the Lady Falcons almost overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit, losing 48-45 to the second-ranked Hornets.

Fayette was quick out of the gate, jumping to a 7-2 lead. Using a 2-1-2 press back to a 2-3 zone, Fayette slowed the Westran offense. The Lady Falcons went inside for most of the quarter as senior post KeBrea Fair scored 12 points in the opening frame. Fayette led 18-11 after the first period.

“I told the girls after our practice yesterday that confidence comes from great preparation and that we need to tell ourselves all day long that we can win,” Fayette coach Rachel Harding said. “It looked like it was going our way in the first quarter.”

Westran showed why they were the No. 2 seed in the second quarter, as the veteran team stormed back, outscoring Fayette 19-5 to take a 30-23 lead at the half. The Hornet’s man-to-man defense stifled the Lady Falcons’ offense, hindering ball movement and limiting shots.

The third period was evenly matched, as Westran outscored Fayette by only two points, stretching the lead to double-digits, 43-32, entering the fourth quarter.

Westran scored the first three points of the final quarter, increasing its lead to 46-32.

Fayette then mounted an impressive comeback, scoring 11 unanswered points to come within three, 46-43. Fair scored four of those points. Freshman point guard Eastin Hill added four as well. 

Westran called a timeout with 30.9 seconds left in the game.

Fayette was forced to foul following the timeout, but Westran sank both free throws. 

After a scoreless possession by both teams, Fair scored again to get Fayette back within three points. Westran held the ball out of bounds, letting the final four seconds run out, and Fayette’s season ended after a valiant effort.

“I told the girls entering the last quarter to give it all they had, as this could be the final eight minutes of our season,” Harding said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our effort; we left it all out there and just ran out of time.”

Fair led all scorers with 27 points. Fellow senior Oakleigh Hill was Fayette’s only other player in double figures, scoring 10 points, including two 3-pointers.

Coach Harding was very complimentary of her seniors. “Kabrea was unstoppable tonight, rebounding and taking people off the dribble. She almost put up 30 points and had a great game. Oakleigh, as usual, got a lot of attention. She’s had a great career in high school and plays hard every day. She’s playing college basketball next year and has a lot of drive.”

“Skylar didn’t get to play tonight, and we missed her. She’s a leader and does a great job. We’re going to miss all three of our seniors.”

Harding, now finishing her first season at Fayette, says the program’s future looks great. “We’ll still be a young team but have some good experience coming back, and we’re excited about our new players coming up from junior high who have had a lot of success.”

Fayette’s record for the year ends up 11-15. Westran advanced to face Harrisburg in the Class 2 District 7 championship game, falling by one point on Saturday afternoon (see story on page 5). The Hornets conclude the season 20-9 overall, their first 20-win season since going 21-8 with a district title in 2017.