The top-seeded Fayette girls advanced to the championship side of the bracket with an easy 63-36 win over eighth-seeded Bunceton/Prairie Home on Saturday. The game officially opened the 95th edition of the New Franklin Basketball Tournament.

Fayette will now move on to face fifth-seeded Community. The Lady Trojans have won the tournament five years running and upset fourth-seeded New Franklin 52-60 Saturday afternoon.

The win was important for Fayette, not just because it was a Saturday afternoon game near the end of a two-week break in games during the holidays. But also because Fayette must prove worthy of the top seed in the girls’ bracket.

A new era of girls basketball is emerging in Fayette. The Lady Falcons came one game short of a winning season last year. So far this year, they have racked up an impressive 9-2 record to round out 2023. A tournament title would cap off an outstanding first half of the season.

It has been five decades since Fayette won the title. In 1974, the girls upset an undefeated and first-seeded Harrisburg team 43-37 for the title. It marked the fourth and last time the Lady Falcons hoisted the first-place trophy. The Falcon boys then went on to defeat host team New Franklin 58-49 to make it a clean sweep for Fayette.

In Saturday’s matchup between the top and bottom seeds, Fayette coach Daryl Betts said it was important not just to win, but to win big “because that’s what you’re supposed to do. I thought we did well for all the potential controversy of coming in for a 12:30 game on a Saturday after two weeks off from games and then having two potential starters out. We did what we were supposed to do.”

Fayette showed little rust from the holiday break in the opening quarter despite having a starter and a key bench player out. Forward KeBrea Fair and guard Addison Powell were sidelined for the opener but are expected to return for the semifinals on Wednesday.

Fair’s absence in the paint forced Betts to adjust the offense, and he said the team didn’t have the same caliber of rebounding and interior presence on defense. “I was kind of worried with KeBrea and Addison Powell out. It kind of affected our lineup. But I didn’t mind the fact that we were going to be small and fast.”

Fayette didn’t take long to adjust. After taking a 4-2 lead in less than two minutes, the Lady Falcons caught fire with a 9-0 run that included a 3-pointer from freshman point guard Addy Gibbs and concluded with back-to-back buckets by junior Oakleigh Hill midway through the frame.

After eight minutes, Fayette led 18-6.

But what the score doesn’t show was adjustment issues with Fayette’s full-court press that resulted in senior forward Kay Sullivan on the bench early with two fouls.

“Kay got into foul trouble with some of our rotations,” Betts explained. “In the press, we had kids who got beat. Then they would rotate over, and she would get caught out of position, and then she would have to take the foul or give up a basket. It’s stuff we have to get better at.”

But despite a different inside presence, Fayette still found a way to score with a motion offense and an intensity BPH couldn’t match. Hill opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer to put her team in front by 15 points. By halftime, the lead increased to 21 points, with Fayette firmly in control, 35-14.

Even while scoring in the 60s, Fayette struggled to finish at the rim. “They did a good job on defense clogging up the paint. Without KeBrea, we lost a lot of our sets,” Betts said.

The Falcons were able to pull down enough offensive rebounds to allow themselves second and third chances and maintain a 20-plus point lead throughout the second half.

Hill led Fayette with a game-high 24 points with a pair of 3-point baskets and perfect 2-for-2 shooting from the line. Junior Lasaydra Jackman had a breakout performance with 12 points off the bench in just three quarters of action. Gibbs and Sullivan each posted eight points.

“I thought Oakleigh played well. She had a great game scoring and did it in an efficient manner. Addison Gibbs hit a couple of shots. Lasaydra came off the bench and gave us a lot of points and energy,” Betts said.

Sophomore Browyn Eubanks banked seven points in her first game back after suffering a concussion in Fayette’s final home game of 2023. She is easily the most athletic player on the team and is a crucial component of Fayette’s press.

“Browyn Eubanks being back gave us a lot of speed and athleticism, and we were able to capitalize with that pressure early,” said Betts.

Senior starter Maddox Wells and junior Melissa Innes each scored two points.

Daisie Huth paced Bunceton/Prairie Home with 12 points, followed by Addison Ray with eight.

Fayette now moves on to the championship semifinals. There was a significant chance Fayette would be matched up with fourth-seeded New Franklin for the third time in a month. But the Lady Bulldogs fell to fifth-seeded Community, which has won the tournament for the last five years.

Betts said after the game he hoped to face Community for the simple reason of seeing a new team.

“I’m ready to play Community just to play someone different,” he said. “Community is always a well-coached program that finds ways to be successful. We’re very excited to make it to the second round of the tournament and play the past champions for the last five years. We are all about making history and building the kind of culture their program has endured the past years. We will look forward to competing against them on Wednesday.”

The two teams tip off at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the new gym. The winner will advance to the championship Friday night. Fayette has not won the New Franklin Tournament since 1974.

If the bracket seedings are correct, Fayette should take on second-seeded Westran in the tournament final. The Lady Hornets surprised everyone in last month’s Glasgow Tournament, emerging as a seventh seed that finished runner-up to defending champ Cairo.

On Saturday, Westran won its tournament opener against Sturgeon 38-24. After three sluggish quarters, the Hornets outscored the seventh seed 20-9 in the final eight minutes. The Hornets face third-seeded Wellsville-Middletown in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the new gym.

On the other side of the bracket, Bunceton will play host team New Franklin at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the old gym for a chance to hoist the consolation trophy.