The Fairfield Lady Eagles worked to the final game in the region with wins over Waco Conally and Silsbee. They were one game away from a trip to the state tournament and they could not top third ranked Hardin-Jefferson on Saturday at the Johnson Coliseum at Sam Houston State University.
Tuesday, the Lady Eagles face the Waco Conally Lady Cadets at the K. and Ida Wolens Special Events Center on the Navarro College Campus in Corsicana. The night belonged to the Lady Eagles but post Braden Bossier took the first assist before tipoff. There was a sound issue with the playing of the national anthem. The Lady Eagle players beckoned Bossier to step up and sing. Bossier is an accomplished singer along with her parents and she stepped and had the crowd as her backup, and she belted out the song and went back to be announced in the starting lineup.
Fairfield controlled the opening minutes by taking a huge rebounding edge in the first period. Bossier and Josey Richardson hit shots and the Lady Eagles took an early lead. Breyanna Dowell scored and was fouled and added the free throw for an 11-6 lead. Miannah Little hit a short jumper and Heaven Lang-Tucker hit a three point at the buzzer for an 11-11 first period finish.
The Lady Eagles got some great ball movement on the first possessions of the second period. Bossier scored a couple of baskets and Ta’Yalla Simpson came on and passed to Jada Clark cutting to the basket. Clark would return the favor with a pass to Simpson for the short four-foot jump shot and the Lady Eagles began to separate. Lang-Tucker scored three times along with three pointers from Little and Ja’Myah Turner. Little hit a three late in the first half and the Lady Cadets took a slim 32-27 lead heading into the halftime break.
Simpson provided an early spark with two early scores to give the lead back to Fairfield. Asia Smith hit a three late in the third to for a five-point advantage. Perhaps a turning point in the third quarter was a deflected pass from Kayelee Adams that was headed out of bounds. Clark sprinted to the sideline and slapped the ball back to herself and scored to cut the lead to 47-44 at the end of three.
Bossier scored on two quick baskets in the first minute of the final period to take a lead they would not give up. Dowell scored three times in the span of five straight scores from Fairfield. Their defense led to offense on a Richardson steal and layup. The Lady Eagles closed out the game with a 66-57 win.
Dowell, the freshman point guard had 19 points and 19 rebounds. Bossier led all scorers with 22 points.
Fairfield earned a berth in the Region III tournament at the Johnson Coliseum at Sam Houston State University.
The first opponent was the Silsbee Tigers, runner up in District 22-4A. Fairfield jumped out to a big lead with Richardson and Clark scoring on steals and fast break points. Dowell scored on three straight possessions and the lead jumped to 18-4. Jarahle Daniels hit a three pointer and a steal and score at the end of the first period and Fairfield led 26-10 at the end of one.
Bossier and Dowell kept scoring and the Lady Tigers did not have an answer for the post players. Silsbee went on a scoring drought and Fairfield expanded the lead to 40-17. Fairfield had a pass stolen and Dakota Matthews hit a three pointer at the buzzer and the Lady Eagles led 40-20 at the half.
Fairfield had two scoring runs of hitting four in a row and followed it up with five consecutive scoring possessions. Dowell was in for 10 points in the quarter and several of them were coming toward the basket. The Lady Eagles had four scores in a row run in the fourth period, including in an Adams three pointer. Matthews scored 11 in the final period to get the game under a 20-point deficit. Fairfield did not help matters with 38 turnovers in the game, but the Tigers committed 33 and could not get any closer.
Dowell hit 12 of 17 from the field and had 17 rebounds to go with her 29 points. Matthews scored a triple double in the loss with 27 points, ten rebounds, and 11 steals.
Fairfield advanced to the regional final against third ranked Hardin-Jefferson. The Lady Hawks defeated the Midlothian Heritage Jaguars 60-49 in the final the night before.
The Lady Eagles held close in the opening minutes of the game. Dowell and Clark scored with Bossier added four points. Adams hit a three pointer, but the Lady Hawks opened up a slight lead in the first period. Makenna Henry and Delberta Guillory-Smith hit three pointers to end the period with Hardin-Jefferson leading 21-14.
Tunisia Strong was a big presence in the middle and she scored nine points in the second. Asia Wheeler hit a three pointer and the Lady Hawk defense held the Lady Eagles to on four of 12 shooting. Freshman Ashlon Jackson scored with just seconds remaining and the Lady Hawks took a 40-20 lead into the locker room.
Strong had a couple of scores off of misses and the lead continued to swell. Fairfield took several shots in the third period but Richardson, Dowell and Bossier were the only ones connecting with scores in the period. They kept the quarter close but could not cut into the lead, so the Lady Hawks led 54-33 going into the final period.
Belle Johnson hit a three pointer in the first moments in the final period but the moments later was only setting the final score. With four minutes remaining, Josey Richardson fouled out of the game. The only senior left in an emotional manner and her head coach, Sally Whitaker, turned her the crowd and she saw the huge ovation cheering her to the bench. The waning moments faded, and the Lady Hawks earned a state berth with the 64-40 win.
Breyanna Dowell scored 13 points and was named to the Region III all tournament team. She was joined by Dakota Matthews from Silsbee, Jasmine Bailey of Midlothian Heritage, Tunisia Strong from Hardin-Jefferson and her freshman teammate Ashlon Jackson, who was name the most outstanding player.
(Sports Photography by Melissa Lee)
