The Road to Lady Eagles’ 4th Straight Trip to State Basketball Tournament

The Fairfield Lady Eagles punched their way to their fourth straight state tournament with a 47-43 win over the Rice Lady Bulldogs in the Region III final at Hewitt’s Midway High School.

 

Fairfield began the week in the regional quarterfinal against Malakoff at the K. and Ida Wolens Special Events Center on the campus of Navarro College.

Malakoff scored the first five points of the game with a shot by Hillary Dawson and a three pointer from Kaitlyn Massingill.

Shadasia Brackens scored on two possessions to cut the lead to 5-4 but Malakoff went on a second 5-0 run to force the Lady Eagles to call a timeout.

After the timeout, the Lady Eagles went on a 19-1 run from the end of the first period to midway through the second period.

Kaylee Williams hit a three pointer to stretched the lead to 38-18. Malakoff went to passing out of the full court pressure but long passes were picked up by

Lady Eagle defenders and scores. Shadasia Brackens scored the last five points of the half and led 39-20.

Fairfield continued to run their offense and outscored the Lady Tigers 32-6 in the second half. The hit the first four shots of the third and fourth period. McKinna Brackens used her passing ability to set up the scoring with a 17-6 third and a 15-0 shutout in the fourth period for the 71-26 win.

 

The Region III tournament opened with a rematch of the semifinal game against the Hitchcock Lady Bulldogs.

Fairfield put the defense on display, forcing the Lady Bulldogs to miss their first 15 three pointers and scored 13 points.

Shadasia Brackens went to the free throw line eight times in the first half and hit six of them.

McKinna Brackens scored 11 points in the first half and received a quick pass for a score and then dished for several scores in the 40-13 first half lead.

With a big lead and a game on the next day, the Lady Eagles used several different lineups with Avery Thaler hit a couple of shots and Lillian McBean scoring four points in the first half and running the offense in the second half.

Fairfield took the 59-19 third period lead and were outscored in the fourth but won the game 65-31 to advance to the regional final.

 

Fairfield would take on the Rice Lady Bulldogs for the berth in the state tournament.

They would face Saniya Burks, the state’s leading scorer in all classification.

She was coming off of a 44 point night against Teague, 41 against Mexia and 38 against the Kountze Lionnettes the night before in a 61-57 win.

The Lady Eagles jumped out to a lead with Shadasia Brackens and Thaler scoring inside. Nash scored on a three pointer and McKinna Brackens hit the offensive glass and scored six points in the first period.

Rice hit their first two shots, both three pointers by Burks, but would miss their final seven shots from the field in the period. Fairfield would have the 16-8 lead.

Fairfield put the defensive clamps on Rice in the second period, allowing only four points.

They held Burks to only eight points in the first half. McKinna Brackens added seven points in the period and dished off three assists for the 14-4 run to lead 30-12 at the end of the half.

Rice caught a hot streak in the third period when Burks hit three from long distance reached the 20 point mark. Fairfield took some time off the clock on several possessions and scored on crisp passing from Thaler for a couple of scores.

Rice cut the lead to 38-27 into the fourth period.

“We had to find ways to manage the game and we had to face some adversity. I am proud of how the girls pulled together and got it done,” said head coach Sally Whitaker after the game.

Burks was working passed many defenders put up to stop her or slow her down. She hit a deep three pointer and Aallyah Nezar hit another three with less than a minute remaining. Burks was fouled on a three pointer with four second left and hit all three, cutting the lead to 46-43.

Fairfield had missed the front end of a one plus the penalty three straight times, until McKinna Brackens hit one of two free throws. On the second, Fairfield pulled the offensive rebound and Rice missed a desperation three pointer at the buzzer to preserve the 47-43 win.

 

“Forty games is a lot and it wears on everyone mentally and physically, but long seasons have become the norm over the past several years. I think we will be energized by the opportunity we have to compete at state again,” added Coach Whitaker.

Fairfield will move to the state semifinal for a rematch of last seasons’ state final. The Winnsboro Lady Raiders will take on the defending state champion Fairfield Lady Eagles on Thursday at 1:30pm. Fairfield with their fourth straight appearance moves into the arguments of some of the best in state history, such as Argyle, Canyon and Duncanville. “It’s crazy to see Fairfield listed among those well-known basketball schools. I don’t know if we ever think about what all of this means, we are just happy to have another opportunity to compete for a state championship,” said Coach Whitaker.

Fairfield joins Winnsboro, Holliday, and Columbus in the state tournament. Play begins with the 1A semifinal early Thursday morning.

 

Update:  Fairfield beat Winnsboro with a final score of 51-43. They will face Holliday in the State final on Saturday following their 59-40 win against Columbus.

(Photos by Payton Botelho)