FCHS stormed back from an eight-point fourth quarter deficit during last night’s Mid-Winter Classic finale vs. Herrin, but was unable to complete the comeback, falling 28-26 in the defensive-minded affair. With just 10 ticks remaining on the clock, Herrin’s Austyn Ridings was unable to connect on the front end of a one-and-one. West Frankfort claimed the rebound, with senior forward Gena Jones advancing the ball quickly up the floor to classmate Genni Hickey. Hickey drove baseline and appeared to have a clear lane to the basket, but Ridings redeemed herself, blocking the Redbirds’ last-ditch effort by rejecting Hickey’s lay-up attempt.
Jones and Hickey paced Redbirds with six points apiece, while Riding led all scorers with 10.
“Our kids played very, very well,” head coach Matt Hampleman said following the contest. “The played very hard. They were outsized at early every position. For us to come back from eight points down and have a chance to take a shot for the win or tie the game, it’s incredible. That just shows you the moxie they had, and I’m pretty proud of them. They worked together, they were unselfish, they did everything they had to do to win the basketball game and we just came up two points short tonight.”
The two squads circled one another like prize-fighters in the ring during the initial quarter, with a Jones lay-up accounting for the sole FCHS tally as the team battled to a 3-2 score at the first intermission.
The Redbirds’ shooting accuracy from three-point range kept them alive in the second, as senior guard Sarah White connected on a trey at the 6:50 mark to knot the game at 5. The Lady Tigers put together a five point surge of their own before Hickey found the mark from distance with 4:19 left in the half, pulling the ‘Birds to within a deuce at 10-8. Senior Amy Bymaster found a cutting Jones to tie the game at 10 with 2:48 remaining, but Herrin reeled off four unanswered points to pull ahead 14-10 at the half.
The Lady Tigers went on a 11-6 run during the third, with a Jasmine Chromchak reverse lay-up, a Bymaster putback and a Jones fadeaway jumper accounting for the Redbird buckets.
With the score 25-16 heading into the final frame, things looked bleak for the home team, but Hampleman’s squad refused to fold. White dropped in the first bucket of the fourth at the 7:39 mark, with Hickey dropping in another trey to pull the Lady ‘Birds within 5 with 4:52 left. After the Lady Tigers answered with a bucket of their own, Hickey found Bymaster with a nifty baseline pass to once again pull FCHS within five with 3:28 remaining. Herrin played keep-away for the next 1:30, before committing a potentially crucial turnover at the 1:38 mark. A Herrin foul put Bymaster at the line for a pair, and she sank the second to help pull her team within four, 28-24. On the ensuing possession, Herrin’s Maggie Bailey misfired on the front end of a one-and-one, leading to a Chromchak putback at the other end with 15 ticks remaining, pulling the Lady Redbirds within two and setting up the crucial final two possessions.
