By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer
Columbia, Mo. — Four games into a now perfect season, Abby Oliver was asked how this year’s Strafford team compares to the 2016 championship group.
Her response? “I think we’re going to be a lot better.”
Three months and a historic perfect 33-0 season later sure makes Oliver look pretty smart. The senior went for 22 points and Hayley Frank scored 25 of her own, plus 14 boards, Saturday inside Mizzou Arena, pushing Strafford to an 80-39 turbo-clocked victory over Whitfield in Saturday’s Class 3 girls state championship.
“When Abby made [that] statement early in the year, that was kind of bold. But they held true to it,” Strafford head coach Steve Frank said. “These kids just worked so hard. They never were complacent all year. I never heard one thing about being undefeated or a state tournament. It was one day at a time all year long and that’s why they were able to accomplish what we did.”
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What they accomplished was history. Not only did Strafford become the first undefeated Class 3 girls champion since Oak Grove in 1992, but they now own a win streak that’s sixth in state history at 49 games and just became the first girls team in state history to finish a season 33-0. Twelve had previously finished 32-0. Only one other, Scott County Central in 1985, has reached 33 wins, finishing 33-1.
And Oliver added some history of her own. Entering Saturday needing five 3-pointers to break the single-season state record, Oliver went ahead and broke that record in the first half, setting up an isolation, dancing along the perimeter and drilling the record-setter with a hand in her face.
“It’s really special,” Oliver, who finished the game with six 3s and the season with 151, said. “Going into the game I wasn’t even thinking about breaking it. I was just going to go out and play my game and coach Frank made sure I was going to do that.”
Oliver checked out for the final time with 1:20 to play, embracing Hayley Frank as the two reached the bench together.
“For four years, it’s very special to be able to coach somebody, not just with the caliber and athleticism she has, but the heart and the love and to be the person that she is,” Steve Frank said. “I’ve been doing this 26 years, and you have very few athletes you can honestly say that about at the end of the season. She’s so special and irreplaceable and she’ll always have a place in my heart.”
Strafford was pushed by Whitfield (25-7) for much of the first quarter. But tied 11-11, Whitfield leading scorer Aijha Blackwell, who averages over 20 points per game, was whistled for her third foul. Strafford responded with a 10-3 run to end the quarter and entered halftime up 47-25.
“That was so huge,” Steve Frank said. “Having to contain her in the open floor was going to be a challenge. We started Kayley [Frank] off on her and she did a really good job. We tried to keep her on the right side of the floor because all the film we watched, 90 percent of her game is on the left side of the floor, so we tried to keep her to the right tonight.”
Zoey Mullings added 16 for Strafford, stepping up again on a big stage after leading the Lady Indians in scoring in last year’s title game and scoring 23 against Lutheran North in Thursday’s semis.
“You’ve got four kids out there that make it hard to key on one person, and that’s what’s made this team so incredible,” Steve Frank said. “I know Hayley and Abby have gotten a lot of the press this year, but they’ll be the first to tell you that that wouldn’t come without their teammates.
“Kayley almost every single night went out and guarded the best player, and that’s an unstatted stat. She does her job and is a great asset for the team. I’m just so proud of the whole group because they don’t care who gets it done. All they want is the final goal.”
For sophomore Hayley Frank, this is her second title in two tries. Already one of the top talents in Missouri, Mizzou head coach Robin Pingeton was spotted in attendance Saturday to view her and the Lady Indians.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Hayley Frank said of the back-to-back titles. “So many hours went into this and it’s so special. Abby is our only senior, I mean, how much better can it get for her to end her career like this? I love my team. They made this so special and it’s unreal.”
Blackwell led Whitfield with 10 points despite her limited action. Jade Moore finished with eight points.
“Give credit to Strafford. They shot that thing this afternoon. We knew they were good shooters and it just felt like from that second quarter on, they didn’t miss too many,” Whitfield head coach Michael Slater said.
The Warriors graduate just three seniors and bring back every significant piece of their roster, already setting their eyes on Strafford next season.
“I’d play them again right now,” Blackwell said. “Can’t wait.”
If Strafford needed any more motivation ahead of Saturday, they got it on Friday, hearing from a source that Whitfield believed it could unseat the champs.
“We heard they thought they were going to be us; they thought they were all that. So our team was really focused and played really well,” Oliver said.
FINAL: Strafford 80, Whitfield 39
Whitfield 14 11 10 4- 39
Strafford 21 26 20 13- 80
Whitfield- Aijha Blackwell 10, Jade Moore 8, Zaria Daniels 6, Catalina Cuevas 4, Nia Griffin 4, Ariel Jennings 4, Jessica Scales 3
Strafford- Hayley Frank 25, Abby Oliver 22, Zoey Mullings 16, Mica Chadwell 5, Kayley Frank 4, Kyndall Compton 3, Taylor Treat 3, Logan Jones 2
