Strafford, Fair Grove set up rematch for Class 3 – District 11 title

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For one half it felt like history was repeating itself.

On Mar. 2, 2015, No. 1 Strafford lost in the Class 3 – District 11 championship to underdog Buffalo and thanks to a hot start on Wednesday night, the Lady Bison had Strafford on the ropes again.

But a pivotal 13-0 third quarter run help Strafford outscore Buffalo 48-21 over the game’s final 10 minutes, giving the Lady Indians an 82-55 win and securing a fourth consecutive trip to the district championship.

PHOTOS: STRAFFORD VS. BUFFALO – CLICK HERE

“Our key was to try to keep them on the left side of the floor and in the first half we struggled to defend their ball screens and they were able to get to the right and they shot the ball extremely well,” said Strafford coach Steve Frank. “Hats off to them; I told my kids at halftime that if they shoot that well in the second half then they deserve to win the game.”

Buffalo senior Haley Gilpin exploded for 15 first-half points as Buffalo hit seven 3s in the game’s first 16 minutes, trailing Strafford 34-31 at the break.

Another Gilpin three tied the game at 34 early in the third quarter before Strafford’s game-breaking onslaught. From that point on, Buffalo made just seven field goals.

“We did a good job defensively in the second half of keeping the ball on the left side of the floor and we were able to get the ball out and really push it up the floor,” said Frank. “I felt like if we could pick up the tempo it would help us out; the second half pace really went our way.”

Buffalo was able to hold freshman Hayley Frank, Strafford’s leading scorer, to a quiet 14 points, but it was the Lady Indians’ balance that proved to be too much for the Lady Bison.

Junior guard Abby Oliver scored a game-high 23, senior Logan Eden scored 21 and sophomore Zoey Mullings chipped in 13 points and freshman Kayley Frank added 9.

“When you get to this time of the year people are going to try to take away your top statistical players,” Frank. “The teams that advance in the playoffs are teams that have people step up and tonight we got that from Logan and Zoey. Who knows who it could be the next night? Our depth has been a building block for us all year because we’ve been able to play a lot of different people and I think it’s going to be a big key for us down the stretch. Hopefully if they take something away we can take advantage of what they give us.”

Seniors Gilpin, Taylor Faulkner and Carley Smith checked out for the final time in a Buffalo jersey, capping a successful three-year stint for the Lady Bison, including the only Final Four trip in program history last year.

“I told them after the game that is something they’ll always have as a memory,” said Buffalo coach Tom Stokes. “Those are three girls that have played on the only Final Four in school history. They’ve led these younger girls all year. We knew coming into the year that we were going to have to start two freshmen and they helped those two grow up a lot. I can’t say enough about them.

Every team threw their best defense at Taylor, Haley finally realized that she’s one of the best shooters in the area when she shoots it and Carly has just been blue-collar players for us. I couldn’t be more proud of them. They came out every night and gave 100% and in the three years I was hear they poured their hearts into this program. They should feel good about what they’ve contributed to this program.”

Strafford 82, Buffalo 55
Buffalo 16-15-15-9 – 55
Strafford 19-15-25-23 – 82
Buffalo: Rice 19, Gilpin 18, Faulkner 13, Austin 3, Williams 2.
Strafford: Oliver 23, Eden 21, H. Frank 14, Z. Mullings 13, K. Frank 9, Larimer 2.
 
Fair Grove survives late rally to top Catholic in trilogy

As the saying goes, it’s hard to beat a good team three times and Fair Grove found that out first hand on Wednesday.

Fair Grove watched an 18-point lead evaporate late in the third quarter, but made just enough plays late to hold off the Lady Irish and return to the district championship for the first time since 2012-13 with a 63-53 win.

PHOTOS: FAIR GROVE VS. SPRINGFIELD CATHOLIC – CLICK HERE

“This is the goal we set at the beginning of the season; it’s been a few years since we’ve played for a district championship,” said Fair Grove coach Jenny Talbert. “We wanted to get back to it. We knew it would be tough, playing Catholic for a third time, and we knew they’d probably do something different but we were able to adjust and come out with a win.”

After building a 30-22 halftime lead that grew to 48-29 late in the third quarter, the Lady Eagles watched as Catholic reeled off 15 unanswered points, making it 48-44 early in the fourth quarter.

Keying the run was a quartet of 3s, two by sophomore Emma Lucas; eight of Catholic’s 17 made field goals were from beyond the arc.

The run knocked the Lady Eagles out of their rhythm, but they were able to get enough stops late to hold on.

As has been the case all season, balance was the name of the game for Fair Grove, with four players finishing between nine and 15 points with senior guard Kelli Oplotnik leading the way.

The 5-foot-7 senior hit a trio of 3s and went 7-for-8 from the foul line.

“We never really know who is going to lead us in scoring,” said Talbert. “Alana is our scoring leader, but they did a good job on her, and then Kelli came in and hit three 3s and pulled them out of their zone. When you have a bunch of seniors they just step up and you never know who it’s going to be.”

Catholic received 17 points from Lucas, while freshman guard Madison Chittenden added 14. The Lady Irish have no seniors on the roster.

The win sets up yet another Fair Grove vs. Strafford matchup. The Lady Indians have won four straight in the series, including last Thursday’s 77-71 OT thriller, and five of six dating back to 2012 with Fair Grove’s lone win coming in the 2013 district championship.

That same year Strafford beat Fair Grove in the regular season, 64-61, and Fair Grove also beat Springfield Catholic in the district semifinals.

Parallels, yes, but that will all go away on Friday at 6 p.m. when Strafford travels to Fair Grove.

“Last Thursday was a great game, we played awesome for the most part, except at the end and still lost,” said Talbert. “That left a bitter taste in our mouths. We wanted the rematch and knew if we were going to beat them then it was going to be in a district title. We’re going to give it all we’ve got and try to knock them off.”

Fair Grove 63, Catholic 53
Catholic 15-7-18-13 – 53
Fair Grove 17-13-18-15 – 63
Catholic: Lucas 17, Chittenden 14, Meek 7, Cabsi 6, Wilson 4, Murphy 3, Sutherland 2.
Fair Grove: Oplotnik 16, B. Weaver 15, L. Weaver 12, Findley 9, Jeter 6, Baker 4, Hill 1.

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