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Fort Frye’s Haven Shilling (14) drives the baseline with St. Marys’ Callie Powell in pursuit during Wednesday’s game in St. Marys.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)
St. MARYS – Composure. Didn’t happen overnight for the Fort Frye girls.
Despite giving up three consecutive 3-pointers to open the game at St. Marys and falling behind by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter, the Cadets remained calm, cool and collected in their final regular season game and pulled out a 51-49 overtime win at St. Marys on Wednesday night.
With postseason beginning on Saturday at home against Garaway, Fort Frye coach Dan Liedtke pointed to this comeback victory as the piece de resistance.
“We had a pretty good discussion there at halftime, and the girls finally got some emotion back into our game,” Liedtke said. “This is one of those games where we never gave up. You love those kind of wins, but you don’t want to be in that situation again.”
With Emmie Duskey as the lone senior in the starting lineup and the remaining four girls sophomores, Liedtke saw something with this group way back in the preseason. Wednesday was just the epitome of what he witnessed through the course of a 16-4 regular season.
Fort Frye senior Emmie Duskey scored 16 points in her final regular season game as a Cadet during Wednesday’s game in St. Marys.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)
“This team really came together in the summer time, and I knew once we got the chemistry going right this could be a really good team,” Liedtke added. “I feel good about this group going into the postseason. I liked what I saw tonight, even with what happened in the first half. This is a good ignitor going into the tournament.”
Three Fort Frye girls scored in double figures, including Duskey and Haven Shilling with 16 points apiece and Ella Dowler adding another 14 points.
After being held scoreless through the first three quarters, Shilling carried the Cadet offense in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Trailing 36-27 at the mid-point of the fourth quarter, Shilling knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the period. Her third occurred with 44 seconds remaining and tied the game at 40-40.
Teammate Ava Huffman had a shot in the post roll around the entire rim before trickling off the iron as time expired.
Fort Frye’s Haven Shilling (14) drives the baseline with St. Marys’ Callie Powell in pursuit during Wednesday’s game in St. Marys.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)
Both teams experienced a bit of sloppiness in the extra frame and combined for five turnovers in the first two minutes.
After putting the Cadets in front 42-40, Shilling followed with a pair of 3-pointers to increase the lead to 48-44 with 37 seconds remaining.
“Sometimes Haven doesn’t have confidence in that shot – we have been working on that a little bit,” Liedtke said. “She has to understand that she is a shooter, and she has proven it last year when she was a JV player.
“She’s also proven it earlier this season. I think she got lost a little bit. Hopefully this one got her back because we are really going to need that.”
After a pair of free throws from St. Marys’ Brynnley Bulluck cut the gap in half at 27.4 seconds, Duskey was immediately fouled. Duskey, who made 10-of-12 free throws for the evening, converted the front-end of the two-shot foul for a 49-46 advantage.
A familiar matchup played out as a pair of senior guards – St. Marys’ Addie Davis, right, and Fort Frye’s Emmie Duskey – met in a high school girls basketball game Wednesday at St. Marys High School.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)
St. Marys misfired on a 3-point attempt at the other end and with the Blue Devils forced to foul, Duskey this time made both free throws at 7.5 seconds.
Defensively, Wednesday marked the third straight year Duskey shadowed St. Marys’ Addie Davis the entire game. An elite matchup to say the least.
“Emmie is more of the quiet girl, but she is going to work – she is not going to let off,” Liedtke said. “With those two going against each other, it was fun to watch.”
St. Marys still had one last opportunity after Callie Powell knocked home a 3-pointer from beyond NBA range at 1.7 seconds.
On the inbounds underneath the St. Marys basket, the pass for Fort Frye was lofted beyond half court, and after a touch of the ball time ran out and St. Marys was left thinking about what could have been.
Fort Frye’s Ella Dowler finished with 14 points as the Cadets defeated St. Marys, 51-49, in overtime, Wednesday in St. Marys.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)
The Blue Devils made seven field goals on seven assists in the first quarter then matched its largest lead of the game at 20-8 a minute and a half into the second quarter. Then the drought as St. Marys went nearly a full quarter without a point.
Behind three 3-pointers from Dowler in the first half, Fort Frye managed to stay in the game by halftime trailing 20-13 by limiting the Blue Devils to two points in the second quarter.
“We choked to death on prosperity,” St. Marys coach Fred King said. “Right after that (20-8) lead we had five trips up the floor, we threw the ball away four times. And a fifth time, we missed a wide open layup.
“There’s the game. Second quarter.”
Davis finished with 22 points behind four 3-pointers, four rebounds and three assists. Bulluck pitched in 15 points.
St. Marys’ Callie Powell (12) is defended by Fort Frye’s Ava Huffman (4) during Wednesday’s game in St. Marys.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)
For regional and possibly state tournament consideration, the Blue Devils (15-4) are hoping to find a quality win on Saturday at the Little Kanawha Conference Night of Champions final against Gilmer County at the Waco Center in Glenville.
“When you play a team that plays defense like Fort Frye does, you have to penetrate and kick – you cannot hold onto it,” King added. “As for their offense, they run you to death. And they are good at it. They are a good basketball team.
“This game would have been big for seeding with three losses. Now we are possibly looking at five losses if we don’t win Saturday.”
Contact Kerry Patrick at [email protected]
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