In what turned out to be a disastrous third quarter for the Fayette girls’ basketball team, the Lady Falcons went from leading Westran by nine, to trailing by two in the championship game of the New Franklin Tournament on Friday night. The eight-minute period set the tone for the rest of the second half, sending first-seeded Fayette home with the second-place trophy in a 56-53 decision.

The Westran girls and boys were both seeded second and swept the tournament, taking the first-place hardware in both brackets.

Fayette, seeded first, entered the championship game after taking down five-time reigning champions Community, the fifth seed, in overtime on Wednesday night. The win gave the Lady Falcons a chance to claim the title for the first time since 1974.

But Westran would continue to act the spoiler. The Lady Hornets have turned around a program that won just one game over three seasons from 2018 to 2020 and picked up just 10 wins over the previous three seasons. Seeded seventh in the Glasgow Tournament last month, they surprised everyone with a second-place finish.

Now they hold the title for the New Franklin Tournament for the first time since earning back-to-back championships in 2007 and 2008.

In Friday’s final, Fayette trailed 14-11 after a back-and-forth first quarter. Junior Oakleigh Hill scored six of the Falcons’ 11 points. The trend would continue in the second quarter as Hill led a six-minute charge with 11 points to put her team in front 23-18 with under three minutes left in the half.

Hill scored 18 of Fayette’s first 23 points, with 12 points in the second quarter that included two 3-point baskets. 

Westran clearly made adjustments in the second half, doubling Hill on defense and forcing fewer than half a dozen touches for her in the final two frames.

“They came out in a box-and-one. We had some sets for it, and we ran some different looks and to be honest we just didn’t hit any shots,” said Fayette coach Daryl Betts. “We weren’t getting our spacing the way we wanted it. We couldn’t get Oakley the ball except for some putbacks. It was unfortunate.”

Betts said he tried to run Hill off of strategies like double screens, but she couldn’t get open. The plan then changed to use the double-team on Hill to open other players. It worked, but the shots weren’t falling.

Freshman point guard Addison Gibbs, normally a double-digit scorer from the arc, missed all five shots from 3-point range.

“We weren’t’ hitting shots. Girls who typically hit shots weren’t making their shots,” Betts said.

Westran sophomore Kharigan Fuemmeler went on a tear in the third quarter, scoring nine straight points in less than two minutes during a 15-0 run during which the Hornets took a 36-30 lead.

Fayette did not score until 1:19 in the third quarter when Hill sank a pair of free throws. The Falcons’ only field goal of the period came from junior KeBrea Fair with 45 seconds on the clock. By the end of the third quarter, Fayette went from controlling the game to trailing 36-32.

The Lady Falcons took a brief one-point lead midway through the fourth quarter on back-to-back steals and layups by sophomore Browyn Eubanks. But another 3-pointer by Fuemmeler put Westran back on top for what would be the rest of the game.

Fayette had a chance to come back late in the game but couldn’t hit a basket until it was too late. Meanwhile, Westran converted six of eight free-throw attempts in the final half minute as the Falcons were forced to foul to stop the clock.

Hill made a half-court buzzer beater as time expired to make it a three-point contest, but by then the game was over with Westran hoisting the first-place trophy.

Hill led the Falcons with 24 points, 18 of which came in the first half.

“Oakleigh was amazing,” Betts said.

Fair added nine points in her first game back after sitting out the first two rounds of the tournament with illness. Eubanks posted six points, four of which came during the final period.

Senior Kay Sullivan had only four points, two of which came from the free-throw line. The tall forward turned an ankle in the overtime period against Community two days prior and was not at full strength.

Fayette shot poorly from the line, sinking just nine of 19 free-throw attempts.

The Hornets fared somewhat better, sinking 12 of 18 from the stripe, including six clutch free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Fuemmeler led all scorers with 25 points for Westran and five 3-point buckets. She sank four shots behind the arc in a key second-half performance which included 20 points in the final two quarters.

Friday’s game was the first meeting this season between the two longtime conference rivals. Both now boast 10-3 overall records. The Lady Falcons will travel to Huntsville for the final Lewis & Clark Conference matchup against Westran on Jan. 30. (Fayette will leave the L&C after this season to help form the Central State 8).

“We reflected and watched the film, and instantly the girls are ready for a rematch,” Betts said on Sunday.

It’s also possible the two rivals could meet again in the postseason during the Class 2 District 7 Tournament that will be held in Glasgow.

In the meantime, Fayette was scheduled to get back into conference play on Monday at Schuyler County. But the game was postponed until Thursday due to winter weather. The Falcons return home Friday for Courtwarming against a struggling Knox County team that boasts a record of two wins against nine losses. One of those wins, however, came against Westran in a low-scoring 34-29 decision on Dec. 14.

Fayette breaks from conference play next week with a home game against North Callaway on Monday. Next Friday, the Falcons get a CS8 preview at with a game at Mokane against South Callaway.