PHOTO: The Fyffe Lady Red Devils will advance to the State Semifinals held at the BJCC on Monday night at 6 pm (Kristy Gallagher | Sports & More)
By Marla Jones, Sports Editor
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — In a show of true perseverance, the Fyffe Lady Red Devils (24-7) defeated the Section Lady Lions (20-7) in overtime, 51-46, to advance to the State Semifinals on Monday, 6 pm at the BJCC in Birmingham. The score was tied seven times and the lead changed five times during the game.
Fyffe made it to the Championship game against the Section Lady Lions by defeating the Lanette Lady Panthers, in the Regional semifinals, with an overtime thriller, 42-36.
Section struck first with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter with a layup by Kaylea McCallister. The Fyffe Red Devils played strong and jumped to the early 9-7 lead in the first quarter of the game. Libby Whitten cashed in with five points for the first quarter, complete with a 3-pointer. Brooklyn Dutton and Madison Myers added two points a piece.
In the second quarter both teams scored eleven points. There was a true fight and foul shots were plentiful as the clock ticked down to the half. Dutton started the scoring for the Fyffe Lady Red Devils with two foul shots. Madison Myers added six points to the board for the Fyffe Lady Red Devils. Gracie Hicks added a 3-pointer for Fyffe with 2:36 remaining in the half. Going into the half, the Red Devils had the 20-18 advantage.
In the third quarter, the Lady Lions outscored Fyffe, 9-4. The Lady Red Devils added two points through foul shots. Senior, Libby Whitten scored two for Fyffe. Going into the fourth quarter, the Lady Lions had the 27-24 advantage over the Lady Red Devils.
The Fyffe Lady Red Devils outscored Section 18-15 during the fourth quarter. It was a scary few minutes with the Lady Lions making layups and fouls shots to have the 32-24 lead over Fyffe. Dutton made two foul shots to make the score 32-26. It was back and forth as Section added two points. Libby Whitten went on a scoring frenzy, complete with a 3-pointer to bring the score, 34-33. With 2:23 left in the game, Dutton helped Fyffe take the 35-34 lead with a layup. Section added 3 points with layups and foul shots to take the 38-35 lead.
With 1:57 remaining in the game, Kaitlyn Wilson added two points to bring the score within one for Fyffe. A foul shot and a layup by Kaitlyn Coots tied the game. With 7 seconds left in the game, Section scored two points on foul shots. Fyffe added the final points on the board with a layup by Dutton, to force the game to go into overtime with a score of 42-42.
In overtime play, scores on foul shots went back and forth between the teams. Dutton scored three times along with a foul shot with 2 seconds remaining on the play clock by Madison Myers, to seal the Red Devil Victory, 51-46.
Brooklyn Dutton had a double-double for the night with 16 points and 12 rebounds. She was named the 2017 AHSAA Northeast Regional All-Tournament Team MVP. Libby Whitten had 14 points for the night. She was also named to the 2017 AHSAA Northeast Regional All-Tournament Team.
