CARTHAGE, Mo. — Fair Grove got hot from the perimeter early to build an early double-digit cushion and held off Diamond’s late rally in a 62-52 win in the Class 3 sectional round of the state tournament.
The first basket of the game was a 3-pointer by Fair Grove (25-4) and the Eagles went on to finish with four triples in the first quarter while building a nine-point lead in the process. Diamond trimmed the lead to single digits, 30-23, by the intermission before Fair Grove pushed the margin back to double digits to end the third quarter. A quick surge by the Eagles extended the lead to 18 early in the fourth before the Wildcats fought to cut it to 10 by the final horn.
ALL GOOD THINGS
Diamond finishes the season with a 22-6 record after reaching the sectional round for the first time in nearly 40 years. The Wildcats graduate lone senior Ashlyn Daniel.
GAME ACTION
Camdyn Hart knocked down a 3-pointer to start the scoring for Fair Grove. Hart sank another shot from the perimeter near the midway mark before Ashton Bell buried back-to-back 3-pointers inside the final two minutes for a 20-6 advantage.
Bell opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and Abbey Green added an inside buck to push the lead to 14 before a 12-3 run by the Wildcats fueled by 10 points from Grace Frazier—including a pair of 3-pointers—cut the Diamond deficit to two possessions, 28-23, with 2:20 left in the half.
Frazier added another perimeter bucket to open the second half to get the Wildcats within four, 30-26.
Seven straight points by Fair Grove—including a 3-pointer from Bell—put the Eagles on top by 10, with the advantage at 12 to start the fourth quarter.
Fair Grove used 3-pointers from Emma Padgett and Brooke Daniels as part of a 9-3 run to open the fourth to push the lead to a game-high 18.
Frazier did her best to help Diamond whittle the lead to 10 by the final horn with 17 fourth-quarter points, but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles staved off the comeback bid.
SCORING LEADERS
Bell sank six 3-pointers on the way to a team-high 26 points for Fair Grove, while Daniels finished with 16 points in the win.
Frazier led all scorers with 40 points, 23 coming in the second half. She made a game-high seven 3-pointers and was 5-of-7 shooting from the charity stripe.
