The fifth-seeded Fayette girls took the consolation trophy in the Harrisburg tournament on Saturday, defeating Class 3 Marshall, the sixth seed, 40-28, despite being down two starters.

Junior point guard Paige Vroman sustained a season-ending knee injury in an opening-round 49-42 loss to fourth-seeded Linn on Tuesday. And powerful sophomore Rylan Roberts was sidelined with illness.

Fayette’s first-round loss to Linn came just four days after Fayette defeated the Wildcats at home on Courtwarming by 18 points. The Falcons rebounded with a 47-51 win over Class 4 Fulton in the consolation semifinals on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

Marshall lost to third-seeded Blair Oaks 34-21 in Tuesday’s opening round, then defeated seventh-seeded Hallsville 47-27 in the consolation semifinals on Wednesday.

Saturday’s win was the second for Fayette over Marshall this year, after the Lady Falcons won the season opener on Nov. 25 at Marshall.

“I think our girls handled it well,” said Fayette coach Rachel England about playing for a trophy with the absence of two starters. “The first time we played them, there wasn’t a lot of rhythm going on in the game, just due to a lot of foul calls. But this time we were able to break free a little bit, have a little bit more freedom in the half-court and full court. And I think our girls handled it well, especially after we made some adjustments at half.”

The shortened roster meant Fayette would rely heavily on its bench. It was also an opportunity for players who usually come off the bench to make their mark among the starting five. Those starting roles went to senior forward Leah Thies and freshman guard Julia Young, who combined for 19 points.

“Knowing we were down two starters, I figured it’d be a perfect opportunity to throw Julia Young in there,” England explained. “Julia was our sixth man coming off the bench against Fulton, but I knew we were going to be a little bit more scrappy with her in the game. We were able to run a little bit more. We had a little bit more speed and overall more pests on defense. So, we were going to look a little bit different, and we were going to look smaller. We were going to play a little bit of small ball. We stuck either Leah or Browyn in a four-out, one-in, and we were just able to work the perimeter, look for some open shots on the outside, and were able to attack a gap when we saw one. We knew going in that we were going to have to be able to box out, rebound a little bit, and really put effort on the glass when Rylan wasn’t here.”

The Falcons trailed by two after a back-and-forth opening quarter and went into the mid-game break behind by one, 15-14, to end a low-scoring first half. But Fayette seized control coming out of halftime, scoring eight straight points to open the third quarter and take the lead for good. Fayette’s defense held Marshall to just four points in the third period, while scoring 13 to open the final period ahead by seven, 26-19.

Young led off the fourth quarter with a triple to spark a 7-2 run that all but put the game away. Marshall sank a 3-pointer late in the game to momentarily cut the margin back to single digits. But the Falcons had the final word, finishing the game with a 4-0 shutout in the final two minutes to end the tournament with back-to-back wins.

“We knew that, especially without Rylan, rebounding was going to be big for us tonight. Just being able to box out, keep them off the glass, allow no second-chance points. And I think our girls stepped up in that manner,” England said. “Our bottom three had a lot of rebounds. Kenna, Leah, and Browyn were able to get their hands on the ball on the boards, and they did a great job. We had a lot of kids coming off the bench, which was really good.”

Sophomore point guard Eastin Hill earned a selection to the All-Tournament Team after scoring 11 points and handling the ball most of the night. Thies finished with eight points, and Young posted 11 with a 3-pointer in her first varsity start. Senior Browyn Eubanks and junior Kennady Vroman each finished with five points but were most impactful on the defensive end. Vroman 10 rebounds and five steals, with Eubanks added seven boards and two steals..

Fayette emerged from last week’s tournament with a record of 11-6 overall. On Monday, the Falcons fell to former Lewis & Clark Conference rival Salisbury 57-46 after leading late in the third quarter.

Sophomore Eastin Hill was Fayette’s only scorer in double-figures with 21 points. The Falcons remain without starting point guard Paige Vroman, who is not expected to return after suffering a knee injury in last week’s tournament.

Fayette now sets its sights on the Central State 8 Conference with eight regular-season games over the next 16 days, five of which are against conference opponents.

The Falcons have just two more home games left this season. The first is Senior Night against Harrisburg on Feb. 13. Fayette then closes its home campaign against South Callaway on Feb. 17.