For the second time in a week the Fillies faced at least an eight -point deficit and elimination and for the second time the Fillies rallied in the second half for the win and Saturday night the Fillies defeated Richland 66-59 in Lynnville to advance to the state tournament for the third time in the last four seasons. On Monday night at Wayne County in the semi-finals of the region tournament the Fillies faced a nine-point deficit with Summertown in the third quarter but rallied to win 50-48 to advance to the region championship game.
Saturday night the Fillies trailed Richland in the sectionals by eight in the first half and trailed 29-23 at the half. The Fillies who struggled offensively in the first half got the offense going in the second half with their defense and the catalyst for the surge was junior Brooklyn Williams who pestered the Lady Raiders and came up with several steals and helped take Richland out of the offensive success they had in the first half. Williams along with senior Adyn Swenson ,who was held to five in the first half, spurred a Fillies offense that scored 26 points in the third quarter, which was three points more than the Fillies scored in the first half alone. Swenson had ten points in the third and finished with 23 for the game. Williams scored six in the third quarter and finished with 16 points for the game.
The Fillies went into the fourth quarter leading 49-45 and built the lead to six with seven minutes left in the game when Wilkins decided to shorten the game with a four corners type offense. The Fillies who only shot five foul shots in the first three quarters of the game, ended shooting 24 for the game after Wilkins decided to play keep away from the Richland defense. The Fillies scored 15 of their 17 fourth quarter points from the foul line and made 15 of 19 for the quarter and 19 of 24 for the game. The Fillies built their lead to ten in the final quarter until a desperate Lady Raider team finally narrowed the final margin to seven.
Swenson led the way with 23, Williams 16 and Kaci Fuller joined them in double figures with 14, Addison Postlethwait added 7, Tyasia Reed 4, and Brooke Butler 2. Jesse Jennings led Richland with 29 points to lead all scorers, Kristen Garner and Maggie Perry were in double figures with 11.
The Fillies will face Clarkrange 31-4 at 2:45 on Thursday at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro in the quarter-finals of the state tournament. The Fillies with the win over Richland will enter the state tournament with a record of 28-5.
The Fillies started their week with a 50-48 semi-final win over Summertown as Swenson led the way with 15, Butler 14, Reed 13, Fuller and Williams chipped in four apiece.
The Fillies were forced to play on the road at Richland after losing to Loretto 60-44 in the region championship game. Butler led the way for the Fillies with 18 points for the night, Reed 9, Swenson 7, Kaci Fuller 3, Postlethwait 3, Williams and Lia Fuller 2. Karly Weathers led Loretto with 18.
