WEST POINT – Fairview’s Lady Aggies finally got control of the game in the fourth quarter with West Point Friday night, scoring 15 consecutive points to turn a tight contest into a 47-29 victory at Jim Boyd Gymnasium.
The Lady Aggies led 32-26 early in the final period and would be able to finish strong, scoring from the field, three-point circle and foul line. A 15-0 run sent the advantage to 47-26 with the Lady Aggies now 16-4 and 4-1 in Class 5A, Area 14 action.
Fairview will need a victory Tuesday at Lawrence County to force a coin flip between the two schools. The Lady Red Devils are undefeated in the area and have a 59-38 win over Fairview last month at Joe Shults Gymnasium.
The Lady Aggies overcame a nightmare shooting from the line in the first half when they were 0-7. They managed to produce 16 points in the second period and jump ahead 23-14 after trailing 9-7 following the opening quarter.
Lizzie Garrison, Mckinna Yearwood and Abbi Taylor each hit two field goals in the second to spark a 16-5 surge to the lead. Garrison’s shots were three-pointers.
West Point wouldn’t go away. In the third, the Lady Warriors’ defense kept Fairview under wraps as Jada Golden was the only Lady Aggie to score from the field. She tossed in a pair of short-range jumpers.
Three-pointers by Jeri Beasley and Olivia Ball and a Beasley drive to the basket had West Point in striking distance at 28-22 with a quarter remaining.
Both teams scored twice early in the period to keep the game at a two-score possession in 32-26 Fairview. The Lady Aggies then used field goals by Dalys Mullican and Taylor on putbacks plus two to go in by Taylor Yeager and Garrison to get another three from the wing area.
That allowed Mary Lauren Hartline’s ball club to go on a string of 15 straight points and extend the margin to 47-26 with less than a minute remaining. Lillie Burdette knocked down a three as time ran out for West Point to reduce the final margin of victory to 18 points (47-29).
Garrison had nine for the winners with Taylor, Yeager, Golden scoring eight, Yearwood six and Mullican four.
For West Point, Jeri Beasley knocked down 11 on three treys and a field goal, Burdette added nine, Olivia Ball five and Tess Hembree four.
West Point 60, Fairview 35
Behind a 16-point second period outburst from Tanner Rusk, the Warriors had control of this area game and pulled away from the Aggies. A 13-7 lead eight minutes in was now 33-17 at the half by a 20-10 West Point blitz on the basket in the second quarter.
Rusk had 21 at halftime and would finish with 26 once the game finished the third period. His night was done. Rusk was 12 of 13 from the line, hitting his final 10 attempts. He added six shots from the floor with two coming from three-point range.
The Warriors led 52-24 going into the last quarter and played their reserves the rest of the way. West Point evened its record to 9-9 and stayed on top of the standings in 5A, Area 14 at 4-0.
West Point gets Russellville to visit Jim Boyd Gymnasium next Friday for its next area assignment.
Alex Hernandez scored seven for the Warriors while Seth Parker had six, Brandon Farley and Cameron Moore five each.
Leading Fairview who lost its 11th straight and fell to 2-16, 0-5 in the area, Sam Elrod delivered nine on three treys, Caleb Chambers eight, Austin Fletcher seven.
