[wpbvideo id=’303197′]
The defending Class 3 State Champion Strafford girls wear a bulls-eye on the back of their warm-up shirts.
They might want to make that target a little bit bigger after beating Kentucky No. 1 Mercer County 76-75 to win the Pink Division title of the Pink & White Tournament.
“We always talked about being the underdog last year. We always tried to be the underdog and stay as quiet as we could. That is over now,” head coach Steve Frank said. “We have bulls-eyes on our (warm-up shirts) because we are everybody’s target right now.”
Strafford was facing long odds coming into a game against a Mercer County team that beat MaxPreps’ No. 5 team Argyle (Tex.) by 19 points yesterday.
The stakes of the game gave it a state championship feel.
“I told them before the game that this is not the state championship, but this is probably the next game past the state championship,” Frank said. “When I walked in (to the locker room) the way they were stretching and the way their mental approach was reminded me of last year before they got ready to go out and play for the championship. I knew they were ready and I knew they were focused.”
That focus showed in the early going as Strafford jumped out to a 10-4 lead on Mercer County. The Lady Indians would continue to expand that lead on the strength of star Hayley Frank. She scored 22 points in the first half on her way to 35 for the game. In the process she was a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line.
Strafford continued to expand its lead all the way out to a 15-point advantage at 48-33 early in the third quarter.
Then the Lady Titans came roaring back.
Mercer County brought it within two points on several occasions before taking its first lead of the game at 75-74 with 11 seconds left in the game.
Strafford didn’t panic on the ensuing inbounds play.
“A team like that, you know they are going to make a run,” Steve Frank said. “Our kids showed a lot of composure. Some teams at that point when you finally relinquish that lead can really kind of fold and they didn’t. We didn’t call a timeout. My assistant was yelling at me to call a timeout but I knew the kids would respond. That is just a sign of kids that understand the game.”
Senior Abby Oliver caught the ball on the offensive end and got fouled with a chance to hit two free throws down one point with 6.8 seconds left.
“I was pretty confident when she walked to the line because she is our leader. She has been there before and I knew she was going to knock them both down,” Hayley Frank said.
Oliver was equally as confident as her teammate.
“I am thinking just like practice it is going in,” Oliver said.
Oliver drained both free throws to make the advantage 76-75. She finished the day 6-for-6 from the free throw line on her way to 19 points. As a team, Strafford was 23-for-27 on free throws.
“Free throws win big games,” Steve Frank said. “Abby hit some big ones. She hit four there at the very end that were just clutch, clutch free throws. Last year in the Final Four I think we were 16-for-16 in the championship game. (In) one point games we talk about possession. You have to win every possession and you have to hit your free throws. They did that today. That is why we were able to come out.”
Mercer County would turn the ball over on the other end with two seconds left. Strafford committed a foul on the inbounds play to give the ball back. The Lady Titans would get the ball in, but miss the final shot to give Strafford the title.
“It is really special for our kids to find out where we are at. We did learn some things we need to work on and build on in big games. Last year’s Kickapoo game we led the entire game and then they came back and beat us right at the end. I just told Coach Pendergrass last year’s game is what helped us in this one,” Steve Frank said.
The win wasn’t quite a state championship feeling, but it was close for Strafford.
“There was just so much energy. The state championship game is definitely above this one, but it was right there behind it,” Hayley Frank said. “It was a crazy good team win. I am just so proud of my team. They really pulled together. We couldn’t have beaten a team like that without a total team effort.”
The Pink & White championship is just the second for the area since the tournament switched formats. Fellow Mid-Lakes team Skyline has the other championship which was won two years ago.
The out-of-area dominance has some people clamoring for the format to switch to be more like the Blue and Gold, but Steve Frank is just fine with the challenges posed by the out-of-area teams.
“Before the game I heard a lot of people say that they would just make this like the Blue & Gold and make it area teams (only) because they bring in out of state teams and it is not really fair. To come out and play and beat a team like that it really helps us,” Frank said.
Strafford is now 11-0 on the season. The Lady Indians won’t have a lot of time to relish this victory. They host Stockton in their conference opener on Monday before heading to face Class 2 No. 1 Skyline on Thursday.
