The sixth-seeded Fayette girls pulled off a stunning come-from-behind upset victory, 57-52, over third-seeded Salisbury in overtime. The win advances Fayette to the semifinals against Westran on Thursday.

Trailing for most of the game, the Lady Falcons toughened up when needed. After Fayette jumped out to an 8-3 lead, Salisbury answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead. They then went on a 6-0 run to end the quarter, to pull ahead 16-12 after eight minutes.

Fayette scored the first bucket of the second quarter, but the Panthers responded with an 8-0 run, taking their largest lead, 24-14. Fayette chopped the lead to seven, 28-21, at the half.

The story of the first half was that of Panther senior guard Tori Rickets, who had 17 points. In the third quarter, Fayette coach Rachel Harding switched to a box-and-one defense, putting a defender on Rickets full-time while the other four players played a two-two zone. “We knew we had to slow down Rickets and Sloan coming into the game, but when Rickets went off like that, we needed to adjust at half-time,” Harding explained.

The extra attention hindered Salisbury’s offense, allowing Fayette to go on a nearly quarter-long 14-6 run. A two-point basket by senior KaBrea Fair near the end of the quarter gave Fayette its first lead since the opening frame. 

“We are going to miss Kabrea next year. She’s so strong in the post and off the dribble that it’s difficult for opponents to guard her. She’s also a tremendous rebounder,” Harding complimented. “She really stepped up and had a great second half.”

Salisbury scored again before the end of the third, taking a slim 36-35 lead entering the final period.

Fayette senior Oakleigh Hill scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, with Fair scoring another bucket to tie the game at 42 apiece with 4:56 left. The teams traded the lead for several minutes before Fayette called a timeout with 1:13 remaining, trailing 49-47.

“They focused a lot of attention on Oakleigh, as they did the first time they played us,” Harding recalled. “She did a great job of getting the ball to others and was wonderful to have on defense for blocked shots and rebounding. Other teams are learning they can’t just focus on her.”

Fayette ran its sideline out-of-bounds play, but Salisbury closed the openings, forcing Fayette to take another timeout with 1:00 remaining.

On the next play, Fair was fouled and hit both free throws to tie the game at 49-49 with 45 seconds remaining. Neither team could score in the final seconds, forcing the game into overtime.

Fayette won the tip for the extra period, and sophomore guard Paige Vroman drove the basket and was fouled. She made the first free throw to inch Fayette ahead. Salisbury made a basket on the other end to go up one point.

Fair was fouled on Fayette’s next possession and made both free throws. After a stop, Vroman hit a 3-pointer, increasing Fayette’s lead to four. Another Fayette stop regained the ball, and Vroman again drew the foul, sinking one of two free throws to seal the victory. Each team made one more free throw in the final minute as Fayette earned the hard-fought upset victory, 57-52.

“Paige is so fun to have on our team; she never stops working. She got put through the wringer tonight, but she kept going and hit several huge shots and free-throws for us,” Harding said.”

Eastin Hill led the Lady Falcon scorers with 18 points. Oakleigh Hill added 13 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Fair had 12 points, and Vroman added 10 points, all of which came in the second half.

“Eastin had a great game. Not only did she lead us in scoring, but we also gave her the duty of guarding the other team’s best scorer,” Harding said.

Rickets had 17 points in the first half but never scored in the second half or overtime. “Much of that was due to the defense Eastin played on her,” Harding said.

Coach Harding had another player she wanted to mention. Senior Skylar Sunderland left the game in the fourth quarter with concerns of a concussion. “Skylar had a great game for us. She didn’t score, but she does so many other things. She can play in the post, handle the ball, and see the floor well. She’s unselfish and can sometimes help settle our team down because she’s a good leader. She was a key component to us winning tonight, and hopefully, she’s healed up to play on Thursday.”

“This is a great overtime win for our kids. We survived and beat a team that beat us by 16 points earlier this season. We’re excited to advance and play Westran on Thursday,” Harding said.

Fayette improves their overall record to 11-14, but more importantly, advances to play second-seeded Westran on Thursday evening. It will be the fourth meeting between the two former conference rivals. Fayette is 1-2 against Westran this season.

The winner will advance to the district final. Fayette won the district title a year ago, with their first winning season in more than two decades. To repeat, the Lady Falcons will not only have to defeat Westran but likely the top-seeded Harrisburg Lady Bulldogs, who face fifth-seeded Marceline in the early semifinal game tonight.