Forget that three of the starters are sophomores. Don’t worry that the Tecumseh girls’ basketball team fell behind seven points early. It’s all about the final eight minutes of the game.
Tecumseh hit 18-22 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 12-14 in the final two minutes of the game, as the Arrows advanced to the sectional championship game with a 54-45 win over Fairmont, the eighth consecutive win against the GWOC this season.
Presley Griffitts led the Arrows with a game high 22 points, while fellow sophomore Corinne Thomas added 14 to send the Arrows to their fifth consecutive sectional championship game.
“We knew Fairmont is a great program and the game was about matchups,” Tecumseh coach Danielle Thomas said after the game. “They had two mobile big and it has been a long time since we had to go against that when we played Jamari (McDavid) and (Mikala) Morris at Kenton Ridge.”
“Did we expect to win? Yes. Did we know we could lose? Absolutely. They are team you have to respect when you step on the floor.”
Fairmont came out and tried to set the tone early, as both of their post players scored first, and a three from guard Mariah Roe gave the Firebirds a quick 7-0 lead.
Once the nerves settled in, the Arrows battled back. Trailing 9-2, Tecumseh used three points from Griffitts and a score at the rim from Macy Berner, pulling within two points late in the quarter.
Both teams battled in the second period before Macy Berner scored in the paint and a steal and layup from Griffitts tied the game at 15.
Both teams played the final four minutes of the half evenly, and it took a layup from Roe with 30 seconds left in the period to tie the game at 19 at the half.
With Fairmont leading 23-20 early in the third, the Arrows reeled off eight consecutive points as Griffitts took over the game scoring six straight points to give the Arrows a 28-23 lead with four minutes left in the third period.
“I think we woke up in the second half after we played scared in the first half,” Thomas said. “It is completely different than playing at Troy (where the Arrows played their opening game).”
The Arrows held a 36-31 lead heading to the fourth, but the shot that did the most damage was a 40-footer at the buzzer that went in from Griffitts that gave them the five-point lead.
“We wanted their bigs to come out and chase us in the fourth period which would wore them out a bit,” Thomas said.
Tecumseh went the entire fourth period without hitting a field goal, but their precision at the free throw line preserved the win. After the Arrows scored six straight points midway through the fourth period, only twice did Fairmont even get the game back to a three-point margin.
*The Arrows saw their season come to an end on Saturday, as they lost to Beavercreek 56-44 to end their season in the sectional championship game.
A milestone in that game took place for the Arrows, as sophomore Corinne Thomas scored her 1,000th career point.
