The Fayette Lady Falcons escaped with a 66-57 overtime win against five-time reigning champions Community in the semifinals of the New Franklin Tournament on Wednesday night.

Fayette, seeded first, coughed up a 19-point third-quarter lead and scored just four points in the fourth quarter to allow the fifth-seeded Lady Trojans to tie the game with eight seconds left.

But the Lady Falcons put things back together in overtime, outscoring Community 15-6 to win the game and punch their tickets to the championship game.

The fourth quarter was devastating to the Lady Falcons, who held an 18-point lead with 5:49 left to play in the third quarter. Fayette turned the ball over just six times in the first three quarters, butt committed 12 turnovers in the fourth. Meanwhile, Community, which had been beaten on the inside all night by Fayette’s height, played to its strength as a small but quick team. The Trojans scored in transition and found ways to get to the free-throw line, sinking five of six shots from the charity stripe in the final eight minutes of regulation.

The Trojans outscored Fayette 15-4 in the last quarter. Their last four points came from the paint in the final 33 seconds.

“We had some good looks but got more and more timid as clock ran down,” said Fayette coach Daryl Betts, who told his team to be patient and take careful shots. “We were up. But we didn’t want to start trying to stall. We were just trying not to jack quick 3-pointers. Because that’s what was happening there for a while.”

Fayette’s final basket of the fourth quarter came with 4:52 left to play. Sophomore Browyn Eubanks made a steal at halfcourt, dribbled down, and dished to junior Oakleigh Hill, who sank a short jumper to make the score 51-40 in favor of the Falcons.

Community then scored the final 11 points to force the game into overtime.

Fayette regrouped and steered the momentum back in its favor after winning the tipoff to start the four-minute overtime period. A bucket by senior forward Kay Sullivan just 13 seconds in put Fayette back in front. Senior Addison Powell then scored a layup 28 seconds later in her first of six crucial points in overtime, the most of any player.

“We went out there, and Addison Powell got to shine,” Betts said about his senior role player. “She was the difference maker. She came in, and she was so strong with it. She made a couple of contested layups, and she jumped for the ball. That’s a senior. She just wanted that game more for her team than anything else.”

Fayette racked up a quick six-point lead before sending Community sophomore Peyton Beamer to the line. She sank two free throws, her only points of the extra period.

Meanwhile, Fayette continued to play its game. Powell scored the next four points on a layup and a bucket from the paint to put her team in front 61-53 with 81 seconds to play.

Coming out of a Lady Trojans timeout, Hill gave Fayette a 10-point cushion with a pair of free throws with 43.5 seconds left to all but cement the win.

Community made just one field goal in overtime, a 3-pointer by senior Alyssa Beamer, who was fouled on the play. She sank the bonus free throw. Two more free throws by Peyton Beamer rounded out the scoring for Community.

Up until the fourth quarter, Fayette played a consistent game. The two teams traded punches for most of the opening frame until Fayette surged out of a late timeout with a 5-0 run over the final half minute to take a 20-14 lead. The Falcons then extended their advantage to eight points by halftime, 31-23.

Early in the third quarter, the Falcons seemed to have the game well in hand, leading by as much as 19 points. But midway through the period, Community turned the tables.

“I thought on the third, maybe we could blow them out a little bit,” Betts said.

He also chalked up the final 12 minutes of regulation up to some miscommunication between coaches and players.

“Our players thought we were trying to run the clock, which we were. But we were also trying to get layups and be aggressive. We have to learn how to control the game,” Betts said. “We were up nine with two minutes to go. We didn’t need to score more to win. What we don’t want to do is let them shoot ever again. Or let them have good shots.”

Hill led all scorers with 21 points to pace Fayette. She also had seven rebounds, five steals, and three assists and was 5-for-6 from the line.

“Oakleigh tore it up. And she did it in a way that was just good-looking shots,” Betts said.

Freshman point guard Addy Gibbs finished with 10 points, eight of which came in the first half.

Sullivan and Eubanks each banked nine points before both fouling out in overtime. Sullivan finished just shy of a double-double with 10 rebounds and four blocks.

“Kay did a great job of staying tall and not getting foul calls on her,” said Betts.

Eubanks was equally impressive, using her speed and athleticism to pick up six steals and dish out six assists. She also had five rebounds and blocked two shots.

Senior Maddox Wells posted seven points, followed by Powell’s six overtime points.

Peyton Beamer led four Community players in double figures with 14 points. Alyssa Beamer made three 3-point shots and finished 3-for-3 from the line. Seniors Kylie Brooks posted 11 points, followed by Brooklynn Glasgow with 10.

Community scored 20 of its 57 points from the line on 29 attempts. Fayette shot 10-for-18 from the charity stripe.

Fayette’s semifinal win over Community means that for the first time in six years, the New Franklin Tournament will have a new girls’ champion. The Falcons hope to win the title exactly five decades after their last tournament championship in 1974.

“That’s a big deal,” Betts said. “It’s good to start these cultural things for the program and just have that moment. It’s been the consolation trophies we’ve always played for. They’re excited.”

In order to hoist the first-place trophy, Fayette will have to get past second-seeded Westran, which proved the upset-maker in the Glasgow Tournament a month prior. The Lady Hornets were seeded seventh, only to score two upsets on their way to a second-place finish. They will now try to spoil Fayette’s chances.

Westran took down seventh-seeded Sturgeon 38-24 in the opening round after putting together a 20-point fourth quarter. On Wednesday, the Hornets bested third-seeded Wellsville-Middletown 67-61 to advance to the title game.

The top two seeds will tip off for the tournament title at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.