Fairfield 54, Idalou 35
Early turnovers were the key for Fairfield in the early stages of the game, scoring seven points off of seven turnovers as the Lady Eagles earned a 54-35 victory over Idalou.
The Lady Eagles, who were led by Shadasia Brackens with 13 points and shooting 50 percent from the field, look to claim their second title in three years.
“We battled,” Fairfield head coach Sally Whittaker said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game, [we] tried to keep the pressure on them as much as we could and it finally paid off for us.”
Holding a seven point lead into the halftime break, Fairfield used a 9-2 run to start the second half, getting behind Brackens and Brenda Wallace to stretch the Fairfield lead to 12 at the 5:47 mark.
Idalou were able to cut the lead as low as nine but Fairfield had key mismatches in key areas in the defensive rotation.
“Defense was the plan the whole game,” Whittaker said. “Keeping pressure on them and making them play faster than they are used to affects those three-point shots eventually. We were able to tire them out and make them not be so accurate in making those shots.”
The Lady Cats were led by Logan Heard, who tallied a team high 12 points and collected five boards. Brenda Wallace.
Fairfield were led by Breyunna Dowell, who recorded a game-high 17 point and seven boards. Brackens finished with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists. McKinna Brackens added 10 points, 10 rebound and eight assists.
Winnsboro 62, Bishop 52
Bishop were not an easy test for Winnsboro as the Lady Badgers fought on throughout the game but the Lady Raiders were too tough in the paint.
The Lady Badgers started hot with an early 8-2 start but as the Lady Raiders adjusted defensively to earn a 62-52 victory to return to the state title game for the first time since 2011.
“Bishop jumped on us early and made us do things we didn’t think we had to do,” Winnsboro head coach Robert Cochran said. “We made some shots, Reese [Lindley] made some shots, Faith [Acker] was big around the basket.”
The Lady Raiders claimed the lead in the 5:08 mark in the second quarter behind a 9-3 run in the frame.
“We started slow in getting the ball to the rim,” Cochran said. “If we weren’t going to make shots, try to get to the line and these kids did a good job doing that.”
The Lady Raiders finished by shooting 61 percent from the line, a key part that got them back into the game in the second quarter.
Bishop had a late charge in the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run and cut the deficit down to five with the help of Eleana Alvarez but Winnsboro fouls were the key thing late as Bishop put Winnsboro in a double bonus foul situation and the Lady Raiders converting their free throw chances late.
