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Lady Falcons top Fulton in overtime thriller

Justin Addison, Editor/Publisher
Posted 1/31/23

The Fayette girls held Class 4 Fulton to just two points in the fourth quarter to rally back from an eight-point third-quarter deficit and force the game into overtime in the seventh-place game of …

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Lady Falcons top Fulton in overtime thriller

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The Fayette girls held Class 4 Fulton to just two points in the fourth quarter to rally back from an eight-point third-quarter deficit and force the game into overtime in the seventh-place game of the Harrisburg Tournament on Friday. The seventh-seeded Lady Falcons then posted a 11-1 scoring run in during a two-minute span in overtime to fend off eighth-seeded Fulton 47-44.

Fayette coach Daryl Betts said after the game, his team had defeated Fulton the year prior, which may have led his players to overlook the Class 4 Hornets.

“Last year, we beat them in the second round in a game that we were under-seeded in, and we kind of parlayed that mindset into this game,” Betts said. “The kids kind of thought it was going to be a lot easier than it was. And it was a battle.”

The two teams fought a tight first half, with Fulton leading 10-8 after eight minutes and 21-18 at halftime. The Hornets opened things up in the third quarter, outscoring Fayette 10-7 to take a 31-26 lead into the final period.

And then Fayette took over in the fourth quarter. Junior Maddox Wells sparked a seven-point run with a 3-point shot, followed by a bucket from junior Kay Sullivan to tie the game. Senior Preslee Sunderland scored the go-ahead basket with 3:42 on the clock to give the Lady Falcons a two-point lead.

Fulton only scored two points over the final 9:54 of the game. A pair of free throws by junior Sam Hedgpath re-tied the game at 33-33 with just under a minute to play. Fayette missed the front ends of two one-and-one free-throw chances in the final minute to remain tied.

“They were up the entire game until the fourth quarter, and we got a tie and got ahead,” said Betts. “We had a lot of kids playing hard.”

Fulton jumped ahead to start overtime with a free throw and a 3-pointer to lead by four in the first 34 seconds of the extra period. But the Falcons responded. Sunderland knocked down a pair of free throws to keep the score within two points. On Fulton’s next possession, Fayette junior Addison Powell tied the game with a layup after making a mid-court steal. Sophomore Skylar Sunderland then sank two free throws to put Fayette on top.

Each team would score seven more points, all but two of which would come from the line throughout the final 2:19. Fulton had a chance to tie or take the lead late. Junior Jayna Hedgpath sank two free throws with 12 seconds left in the game to cut the lead to two points.

Powell made it into a three-point game two seconds later after Fulton was forced to foul to stop the clock. Fayette forced the Lady Hornets to turn the ball over again on their next possession to clinch the win with 6.5 seconds left.

“It was a team win,” Betts said after the game. “Every game is a team win because we have eight or nine kids score the ball. And really, we don’t have that one player.”

Sullivan paced nine Fayette scorers with a game-high 12 points and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. In three tournament games, Sullivan scored 26 points and earned a spot on the All-Tournament team. 

Skylar Sunderland finished with eight after going 5-for-10 from the line with a 3-pointer. Preslee Sunderland added seven points, converting three of four free-throw chances. Freshman Browyn Eubanks added six points with a 3-pointer in the third quarter and a crucial free throw in overtime. Powell added three points, all in overtime, followed by Wells and LaSaydra Jackman, with three each off the bench. Senior Hannah Quint rounded out the scorers with two.

Junior Kier Henderson finished with 10 points as Fulton’s only double-digit scorer.

Apart from Sullivan and Preslee Sunderland, who missed just one free throw between them, Fayette struggled from the line, making just 17 of 34 tries. Fulton fared little better, sinking nine of 17 attempts.

“Lately, our wins have come from behind. We have to get better about control and then hitting our free throws,” Betts said. “Our free throws are going to be the biggest struggle for us if, down the road, we get ahead and there are so many people that are susceptible to missing.”

After falling to second-seeded Hallsville 66-39 in the opening round, Betts said his objective was to finish the tournament 2-1 to emerge with a record of .500 for the first time in more than a decade. The last time the Fayette girls had a winning record was in the 2011-2012 season when they finished 14-12. More recently, the Lady Falcons finished with an even mark of 12-12 for the 2018-2019 season.

“Teams look at us as a potential win because we haven’t had success in the past,” said Betts.

After pulling ahead in the consolation semifinal, Fayette coughed up a lead to ultimately fall 50-45 to sixth-seeded Mexico.

Fayette exited the tournament at 9-10 overall heading into the final six-game stretch of the regular season. 

Three of Fayette’s next six opponents had won only five games as of Sunday. The Lady Falcons traveled to Salisbury on Monday to face the 13-6 Lady Panthers, falling 57-36. They played their final home game of the season on Tuesday against Westran after the Advertiser went to press.

Fayette closes out the season with a four-game road stretch starting Monday, February 6, at Paris. 

“The heart is out there, and the effort is out there. And I really think that we’re going to have a signature win in these next two weeks,” Betts said. “We’ve got a chance to have some big games and hopefully get our first .500 season since 2012. So that’s a big deal. Our schedule isn’t an easy one to do that on. So, it’s a big deal, and I hope the next two weeks, we can really pull out some things.”

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