Just hours after a stunning upset victory over the MaxPreps No. 2-ranked team in the country, Fayetteville got right back to work.
The Lady Bulldogs defeated host Duncanville, Texas earlier in the day, but capped off their appearance at the 66th Sandra Meadows Classic with another big win, bringing home the championship trophy with a 69-51 victory over Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern on Friday night in the tournament finals.
"I think I kind of understood what we did today, beating Duncanville on their home floor, when people from down here kept coming up and saying how big a deal it was," Fayetteville girls basketball coach Vic Rimmer said. "We played well on both ends of the floor. They really let you play down here and our depth was huge
"We played about 10 kids every game and we've got good players and we played really well, and I'm proud of how they came back and performed after beating Duncanville."
Fayetteville needed a full four quarters to outlast Duncanville, 67-60. But the championship game was all Lady Purple'Dogs from the start. All-Tournament selection Ashley Breathitt led Fayetteville with 18 points in the championship game as the Lady'Dogs (13-2) built a 30-16 lead at the half and would increase the lead to as much as 27 points by the fourth quarter.
"Breathitt was amazing," Rimmer said. "She was looking for the matchups and was really making the most of her chances. And Lauren Holmes was just on fire, hitting some big threes."
Holmes, the tournament Most Valuable Player, scored 12 points in the win over McEachern and Kylee Coulter also added 12 points.
Jasmine Frankin, another All-Tournament selection, scored six points.
"Just up and down, a great team effort," Rimmer said. "I'm really proud of them."
Sports on 12/31/2016