By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SEYMOUR, MO – No. 1 Fair Grove won its third-straight title Saturday evening with a 48-32 victory over Springfield Catholic in the Class 3 District 9 championship match, thanks in part to Abbey Green’s huge third-quarter performance.
Green, a 5-foot-11 senior, poured in 10 of her game-high 14 points in the period.
“We were sitting in the locker room at half, and I was kind of down on myself because I hadn’t been playing to where I could play,” Green said. “Cam (Hart) came up to me and was like, ‘you’ve got this – we’re going to figure this out. She was the one who assisted me on that first bucket I got and says, ‘There we go – that’s the flow. We’re gonna keep it going. That was definitely something that got me going in that third quarter.”
With Green’s repeated attacks at the basket, Fair Grove’s 18-13 halftime lead quickly blossomed to a 16-point margin at the end of the third frame thanks to an 18-point outburst coming in the quarter.
Eagles head coach Gary Greene had a clear message at the half – be aggressive and attack the basket.
“We were playing outside-in tonight instead of inside-out,” Greene said. “I challenged them at halftime to guard even better and to attack the basket from the middle of the lane, and that’s what Abby and Cam did. They got the ball in the middle of the lane, they got some balls to go in there, and we were able to get some separation.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Four Fair Grove seniors finished in double figures, with Ashton Bell (11), Brooke Daniels (11) and Cam Hart (10) joining Green.
Lila Griesemer and Makenna Phipps each scored 9 points to lead Catholic.
“We obviously didn’t play like we’re capable of playing,” Greene said. “We missed a lot of easy shots; we turned it over but, at the end of the day, we guard pretty well. When you guard, you always have a chance. Today, our defense carried us – kept them kind of at arm’s length, if you will – and we were able to get it going in the third quarter.”
While only four potential games remain in the way of a third-straight Class 3 state championship, Greene scoffed at the notion a possible ring was within Fair Grove’s grasp.
“Look, we have one game that we know of, and that’s Tuesday night,” Greene said. “If we don’t focus on that one game, we won’t have a second game. If we don’t take care of business and improve our play from tonight, then we don’t play on Saturday – so I’m not even thinking about that.
“Yeah, we know what’s at stake, we know what we’ve done, and we know what we’re capable of doing. That being said, you still have to go out and play the game, and you’ve got to play one game at a time. Tonight is over, and we’ve got to go worry about what we’re going to do on Tuesday.”
Up next for Fair Grove (24-4) is a Tuesday night sectional round matchup (March 4) against Thayer.
Class 3 District 9 Final: Fair Grove – 48, Catholic – 32
Catholic 10 03 07 12 – 32
Fair Grove 11 07 18 12 – 48
Catholic scoring: Lila Griesemer – 9, Makenna Phipps – 9, Riley Hein – 5, Peyton Wiseman – 3, Alice Farmer – 3, Riley Webster – 2, Grace Hoerschgen – 1
Fair Grove scoring: Abbey Green – 14, Ashton Bell – 11, Brooke Daniels – 11, Cam Hart – 10, Emma Padgett – 2
