JACKSON - One championship down. Two to go.
That's the approach Pillow Academy is taking after it rallied to win a slugfest, 40-35, over Jackson Prep here Saturday in the finals of the Class AAA Division I Tournament.
After trailing by as many as six points early in the fourth period, the Lady Mustangs outscored Prep 11-2 to close out the game.
"This is great, but we've got a couple of more things we hope to accomplish," said PA coach Durwin Carpenter, pointing toward the State AAA Tournament and Overall. "This has been such a fun group of girls to work with. We just hope to keep this thing rolling."
Pillow, 34-1 and ranked No. 1 in the statewide academy AAA poll, will be the top seed from Division I in the State AAA Tournament, which starts Tuesday at Hillcrest Christian School in Jackson. The Lady Mustangs will play the fourth seed from Division II either Tuesday or Wednesday.
For Pillow, it was the fourth win in as many meetings against Prep this season. And like most PA-Prep games, it was a physical, hard-fought contest on both ends of the court.
Prep, 26-7, led 43-39 with 31/2 minutes left, but senior guard Katie Buford hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game to make it a one-point affair. Meagan Webb, a senior center, hit one of two foul shots to tie the game at 43.
After a minute and a half of scoreless play, senior Mariclaire Fancher turned the tide with a steal near mid-court. She took it and drove in for a layup, putting PA ahead to stay.
Senior point guard Clansey Flautt and Webb iced the game in the final 24 seconds with two free throws each. Flautt (six points) and Webb (five) were held to nearly half of their season averages.
"Every time Clansey came across half-court, they were trapping and double-teaming her, but she made good passes and got open shots for others," Carpenter said.
Buford finished with a team-high 14 points, and Fancher added 11 and a team-high five assists. Webb pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
Sophomore Lauren Coleman came off the bench to pump in eight points, all of which came at crucial times for Pillow.
Buford pumped in the first eight points of the game after scoring just three points total in Friday's 57-45 win over Parklane in the semifinals. She had 11 of her team's 17 points in the first period.
"The other guards did a good job of penetrating and kicking it out to me. Coach Carpenter and everybody were telling after (Friday's game) to just keep shooting. I did, and I was fortunate enough to get some shots to fall," said Buford, whose playing time was limited in the second half due to foul trouble.
The Lady Mustangs led 17-11 at the end of the first period. Prep pulled within two, 23-21, with two minutes remaining before halftime on a layup by Anna Lampton, who finished with a game-high 15.
But Coleman reeled off five straight points to help her team to a 28-23 halftime lead.
The Lady Mustangs led by as many as nine early in the third. Lampton hit two free throws with .9 seconds left in the third to tie the game at 35.
The Lady Patriots opened the fourth period with two straight 3-pointers for a 41-35 lead at the 6:35 mark. They then went to the foul line with a chance to extend that lead but came away empty. That's when the Lady Mustangs started their comeback.
"Our girls are proud of the way they play defense, and in the last four minutes of the game, they stepped it up defensively," Carpenter said.
Fancher, Buford and Flautt were named to the all-tournament team.
