Fayette coach Rachel Harding said her team did not look like they wanted to play in Thursday night’s semifinal game against top-seeded Westran in the New Franklin Tournament. Fayette, seeded fourth, fell behind early and couldn’t erase a double-digit margin in the second half, losing 68-45.

“Honestly, I just don’t think we came out ready to go. It took a lot for us to do the little things right. The first half really just smoked us,” Harding said.

After a tight opening two minutes, Westran found its groove and jumped ahead with an 11-point run to take the lead for good. The Hornets heated up from the 3-point line, banking six first-half shots from the arc. Four of those 3-pointers came in the first quarter.

After falling behind by 14 points at halftime, Fayette bounced back momentarily in the third quarter. Senior Oakleigh Hill sank a three from the top of the key in the opening seconds. Senior KeBrea Fair then scored to cut the deficit to single digits. But every time Fayette slashed the lead, Westran had an answer, either with the long ball or under the basket.

“We were just making too many mistakes and being careless,” Harding said. “But we did get into some foul trouble tonight. We like to play aggressive. We like to get our hands on the ball. If they call it, they call it. That’s just something we have to roll with.”

Thursday’s game was the rubber match between two teams that have now played one another three times. It was the third time in just seven games for Fayette this season. For Westran, it was the third time in 12 games.

Fayette lost the first game against Westran in the semifinals of the Glasgow Tournament in early December. The Falcons then defeated the Hornets in Westran on December 17 in regular-season play. It’s possible the teams could meet again in the postseason district tournament.

“It looked like we didn’t want to be there. And that’s what’s frustrating as a coach,” Harding said. “We just did not come out the way we needed to come out in order to compete.”

One bright spot in the game for Fayette came in the opening quarter when Oakleigh Hill surpassed 1,000 career points. She entered the game just three points shy of the milestone and moved into triple-digits with a jumper from the lane with 3:35 on the clock in the open period. She would go on to score a team-high 17 points on the night.

“She’s a great player to have,” Harding said. “She’s a spark for us. She hits one, and you know what the rest of the night is going to bring. She’s just a great scorer to have on the roster.”

Fair ended the game with nine points, followed by Paige Vroman and Eastin Hill with five each.

Emma Wortmann led Westran with a game-high 18 points. Kaylee Hayes posted 13, followed by Kharigan Fuemmeler with 10.

Westran moves on to face host-team New Franklin for the tournament title at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. It will be the first time in seven years a team other than Community will hoist the first-place trophy. The third-seeded Lady Trojans had won the championship six years straight but were bumped off by the second-needed Lady Bulldogs in the semifinals.

Fayette will now take on Community for third place at 1:30 p.m. in the old gym.

The Lady Falcons advanced to the championship side of the bracket after first-round opponent Prairie Home backed out of the tournament due to the wintry road conditions.