After falling in the Regional Championship last season to Huntington by one point, 42-41, the Fairfi eld Lady Eagles wanted to make it to state again this year after being knocked out last season.
Fairfield matched up with the Little River Academy Lady Bees on Friday night, Feb. 21, at Waco Midway for the Regional Final. Fairfield had lost to Little River Academy earlier in the season during the Fairfi eld Tournament, 52-42.
However, the Lady Eagles came out strong and never looked back as they punched their ticket to state with a 61-43 victory over the Lady Bees.
“It is so surreal at the moment. We missed out last year and we thought we had a good chance. All year we have been working to get to this point. I’m just so proud of the girls for realizing what they have been trying to do all year. I’m really happy to see them so excited,” Coach Sally Whitaker said after the game.
The first quarter of play was back and forth as the quarter ended with the game tied at 13. Kaylee Williams hit a three-pointer at the beginning of the second quarter to go up 16-13 and Fairfield never lost the lead after that. The Lady Eagles outscored the Lady Bees 18-14 in the quarter to take a four-point lead, 31-27, at halftime.
When asked about coming out in the second half, Whitaker said, “All year, the girls have this mentality that we want to win. As silly as that sounds, it’s really a big deal. They really just have a drive to win. I’m just so happy for them and they get to experience this.”
Little River Academy came out in the third quarter and tied the game at 31. However, Fairfield went on a 16-4 run to end the quarter to take a 47-35 lead into the final quarter of play. In the fourth quarter, the Lady Eagles scored 14 points and held the Lady Bees to just 8 points to bring home the 61-43 victory and advance to state for the fifth time in six years.
When asked if it was revenge after losing to Little River Academy earlier in the season, Whitaker said, “I guess if you want to call it that. They came to our tournament and played us and they got the best of us that night. That really just showed us how good they were. They want to win just as badly as we do.”
Jacelynn Schmidt led the way for Fairfield with 16 points. Williams added 14 points, Jimilyah Nash 11, Blayke Brackens and Jaci Abram 6 each, KeKe Alexander and Addison Posey 3 apiece, and Kole Brackens 2.
“We do have experience at the state tournament. Although all of these girls have not been there, some of them have and they can set the tone for us,” Whitaker said. “We want to win two more games. We also know we are lucky to be where we are at and we respect that. We just want to compete as hard as we can.”
