The Blair Oaks Lady Falcons earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 4 District 10 Tournament by virtue of defeating each of the other five teams in the district during the regular season. But when the Lady Falcons lost their starting point guard to a season-ending knee injury in the regular-season finale, they went from being the favorites to facing a steep uphill climb to begin their postseason.
It was a regular-season finale that felt more like a district championship game. With nothing but bragging rights on the line Thursday night, the California Lady Pintos led for much of the game but the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons were always on their heels. Lauren Friedrich scored 10 of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter Thursday night, leading the Class 4 No. 5 California Lady Pintos to a 47-41 victory against the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons in both teams’ regular-season finales at Blair Oaks High School.
The Linn Lady Wildcats have shown they can win games with the 3-point shot. On Wednesday night, they won the game at the free-throw line. The Lady Wildcats shot 10-of-12 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, holding on for a 53-48 victory against the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons at Blair Oaks High School.
Down the stretch, the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons did the little things to get huge victory. “That was a big one,” Blair Oaks coach Brandon Moore said Tuesday night after the Lady Falcons defeated the Fatima Lady Comets 41-35. “We look forward to this game every year, it’s always fun to compete against them. We know how good of a basketball team Fatima is. It will help us down the road, for sure.”
The Blair Oaks Lady Falcons decided the best way to win a tightly contested game was to never give up hold of the lead. Blair Oaks led for the final 20 minutes Monday, and although the Camdenton Lakers cut a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter down to three points, the Lady Falcons held on for a 46-39 victory in their season opener.