By Nolan Epstein
Fair Grove, MO – Three days after receiving a 67-29 drubbing at the hands of Willard, the Fair Grove Lady Eagles (13-6) flipped the page and constructed a chapter that they’ll remember much more fondly as they turned back the Springfield Catholic Lady Irish (10-8) by a final of 76-45 at home on Thursday.
Coming off Monday’s ugly loss, head coach Jenny Talbert made sure her team was ready from the opening tip this time around – stressing the importance of getting off on the right foot during practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Lady Eagles took what they learned from their coach in practice and implemented it to near perfection as Fair Grove scored the first eleven points of the game.
“We had two pretty intense practices where we knew we had to have a good start,” Talbert said. “We can’t just come out and lay an egg at the beginning of the game, so I was really proud of those girls for stepping up and starting out really well.”
After going up by as many as twelve in the first quarter, Fair Grove hit a proverbial wall over the final three minutes of the period as Catholic put together a 13-4 run to claw within three points at the first break.
Catholic would continue to build momentum in the early moments of the second quarter and momentarily grab a 24-21 lead thanks to a 3-pointer by sophomore Lindsey Murphy, but the Lady Eagles found the mojo it possessed in the opening minutes and proceeded to score 17 of the game’s next 22 points to take a 38-29 advantage into the locker room.
“When things don’t go our way, we’ve kind of been panicking,” said Talbert when asked about her team keeping its composure despite Catholic’s run.” We always preach to them to string together good possessions. Get scores and stops, and get them in a row. We finally were able to do that.”
The third quarter proved to be another offensive clinic for Fair Grove as 6-foot-2 sophomore Harley Maxwell, who fearlessly commanded the low post, scored 12 of the Lady Eagles’ 20 points in the period.
The Lady Eagles took advantage of their size advantage in the second half – consistently looking to Maxwell to create scoring opportunities underneath the basket.
“We’re taller than most of the girls we play,” said Maxwell. “Our goal was to box out, pull the boards, go the other way and push the ball up the floor.”
As Fair Grove continued to build its lead over the final 16 minutes, the inexperience that spans across Catholic’s roster became more present with each possession as the Lady Irish seemingly lacked the confidence needed to fight through their scoring droughts.
“We’re very young and we’re still learning those challenges where we have to mentally stay in the game,” Catholic head coach Dan Stander said following the loss. “I thought when our shots didn’t go down, we kind of got down.”
Nine of the ten Lady Eagles that saw playing time on Thursday scored at least two points, while four players scored at least eight in the victory. Sophomore Alana Findley led the way with 22 points, while Maxwell finished with 16.
“That’s the nice thing, we have some really good balance,” added Talbert. “We have some players that are really, really good and we have some players that know their role really well. They’re all contributing in different ways.”
Lindsey Murphy scored a team-high 18 for the Lady Irish.
Fair Grove faces a familiar foe next Thursday when it travels to play Skyline, a team that has already defeated the Lady Eagles twice this season. Catholic squares off with Walnut Grove in the Scoreboard Guy Shootout in Ozark on Saturday.
Box Score
Catholic – 16 13 8 8 – 45
Fair Grove – 19 19 20 18 – 76
Catholic – Lindsey Murphy 18, Madison Chittenden 12, Olivia Wilson 8, Lilly Edwards 3, Emily Pazera 2, Jaycee Cabasi 2
Fair Grove – Alana Findley 22, Harley Maxwell 16, Lexie Sutherland 9, Maddie Clark 8, Bailee Morgan 5, Cydney Fullerton 5, Taylor Bell 5, Lorin Weaver 4, Alexus Rust 2
