FAIRVIEW – A 17-point lead with 2:00 remaining seemed to be safe Tuesday night for the Fairview Lady Aggies.
But the Arab Lady Knights said, “Not so fast.”
Down by the large margin and time starting to run out, Arab made a gallant run, coming up short by one field goal 55-52.
The Lady Aggies overcame the comeback try by the Marshall County visitors after they lost starting center Abbi Taylor to five fouls and had starting forward Dalys Mullican on the verge of getting disqualified.
This game was well played by Fairview, according to coach Mary Lauren Hartline, until the final 2:00. Arab scored the last 14 points and had a chance at a tie, but missed from the left wing inside the final five seconds.
Arab scored a two-point basket on an inbound steal as time ran out, but the buzzer sounded and the margin of victory was three points, not one.
Fairview got a 23-21 lead at the half and went up 39-33 when the game entered the wild fourth quarter.
Point guard Taylor Yeager was solid with seven of eight from the line in the period and hit a field goal as the lead went to double digits. Jada Golden knocked down a three near the 2:00 mark and the Lady Aggies were enjoying a 55-38 cushion. All was needed was time to run out.
But before that happened, here came Arab. The Lady Knights got three long range shots to fall and a three-point play to cap off 14 unanswered points.
Fairview failed to make its final four attempts from the line after starting the quarter nine of 10, led by Yeager.
Arab called time out at 5.7 seconds and set up a shot to possibly tie the score. Kelsey Watkins had a good look, but missed with the ball going off an Arab player and the clock down to six-tenths of a second remaining.
All that was needed was the ball to be touched and the game would be over. Fairview threw it right under the Arab basket, lost it, then Arab got it but time was already out.
The Lady Aggies held their breaths and saw their winning streak extend to five straight and head into Christmas with 12 wins against three losses.
Yeager had 17, nine in the fourth to guide Fairview while Taylor scored eight before fouling out. Golden and McKinna Yearwood both netted six on two treys each.
For Arab, its five-game winning streak was halted. The Lady Knights fell to 10-4. They were led by Kelsey Watkins with 22 and McKenzie Sokoll with 11.
Arab 41 – Fairview 38
A low scoring battle came down to the game’s final play in the girls’ encounter. Fairview’s Sam Elrod missed from three-point range off the right wing, attempting the shot with less than a second showing and the Aggies needing a three to tie.
Fairview fought hard the entire evening, especially after the Aggies had coach Eddie Groves ejected with two technical fouls in the final 1:21 of the second period. Arab capitalized on the ejection with two free throws and a field goal and jumped in front at the break 20-17.
The Aggies were behind 38-33 with less than a minute remaining when they got in striking distance by six points from Austin Fletcher, who would lead the Aggies with 20.
Arab missed five free throws in the fourth with the opportunity to put the game away. They converted in six of 11 in the last quarter with William Dyar getting the final two inside the remaining 10 seconds to make it a three-point lead.
James Richey tossed in 11 to lead the Knights who are 9-6 heading into Christmas. The Aggies slipped to 2-11, suffering their sixth straight defeat.
