February 13, 2025
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Prep Sports

Late heroics earn Fieldcrest Lady Knights first regional title

By Charlie Ellerbrock

The Fieldcrest Lady Knights captured the program's first regional championship Thursday. (The Times)

MINONK — The wait is over.

In the finale of their own Class 2A regional here Thursday night, the Fieldcrest Lady Knights had their program's first regional plaque all but won in the second quarter, lost it in the third, then got it back early in the fourth before the lead slipped away again, leaving them trailing Stanford Olympia 47-44 with less than two minutes left.

But these Lady Knights don’t quit.

A huge three-point play by junior Hannah Baker with 11.5 seconds left off a pass from Madi Houk erased their last deficit and gave FHS a narrow lead, then Baker partially blocked the last-chance shot by Oly’s Chloe Scoggins to preserve that edge. Alyx Carls clinched it with two free throws with :01.8 to go for a 51-48 win and the first girls basketball postseason title in school history.

Addie Goodrich finished with a game-best 18 points in the roller-coaster win for Fieldcrest (20-11), which shot just 28.5 percent (12-for-42) from the field but won it when three Oly players fouled out, leading to the hosts’ huge 22-of-32 night from the line.

The Lady Knights next will take on Manito Midwest Central in Monday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal at the Beardstown Sectional. Manito defeated Knoxville, 50-47, in its own regional final.

“This is the moment that our program has been waiting 26 years for,” said Fieldcrest coach Mitch Neally. “When I first took over this program four years ago, we made it a goal to put up a banner in this gym, and we worked toward that every day. We made it to the final in three of the last four years, and it sure feels good to come out on top tonight here on our home court.

“All year long, this team has faced adversity at every step, yet they continued to battle, continued to work. … These girls deserve this, and I’m so happy. They didn’t quit when the game got close, and they found a way to win.”

They found a way to win several times, but it just wouldn’t take.

Down three after one quarter, the Lady Knights took advantage of foul trouble to outscore Oly 20-4, with 11 of those points coming in 14 trips to the line and the rest on treys by Ella Goodrich, Madi Houk and Addie Goodrich.

Most of that lead melted away in the third period due to FHS’s 1-for-11 shooting, five turnovers and eight of the 18 points on the night from Olympia's 5-10 post, Colby Burt. The Lady Knights had a 42-38 edge on two tosses by Addie Goodrich with 5 minutes, 12 seconds left in the fourth, but a flurry of turnovers allowed the visitors to a 9-2 run and a 47-44 lead with 1:55 to play.

“The third quarter was a pretty good one for us defensively,” said Olympia coach Courtney Hoffman. “We talked at halftime about having three starters on the bench with foul trouble and we were still in the game. We came out for the second half with everybody back, knowing if we played our game we could get back in it. They just believed they could do it and we took the lead, but then we kinda lost it.”

A drive by Addie Goodrich and a free throw by Taylor Nowaskie set the Lady Spartans lead at 48-46 when Baker took a pass from a driving Houk and powered it in with the foul. She calmly made the lead point before turning her heroics in at the defensive end of the floor.

“I remember making the shot, and I didn’t think I was going to get the foul on that, but when I did, I just went crazy,” Baker said with a giddy laugh. “When I got to the line, I said to myself, ‘OK, pressure’s on.’ I just took my time, handled it and got it. …

"I have never had a bigger moment than that in my entire life. It was crazy.”

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At Fieldcrest, Minonk

Fieldcrest 51, Stanford Olympia 48

OLYMPIA (48) — Bode 3-9 0-0 8, Cleinmark 0-3 0-0 0, Burt 7-12 2-2 18 Smith 0-1 2-2 2, Scroggins 3-9 0-0 8, Davis 0-1 2-2 2, Nowaskie 4-6 2-4 10. Totals 17-41 8-10 48.

FIELDCREST (51) — Hock 2-12 3-4 8, A. Goodrich 5-15 6-8 18, Carls 0-1 5-8 5, Park 1-1 0-0 3, H. Baker 2-6 4-5 8, E. Goodrich 2-6 1-3 6, Vazquez 0-0 0-0 0, Z. Baker 0-1 3-4 3. Totals 12-42 22-32 51.

Olympia (17-11) 13 4 16 15 — 48

Fieldcrest (20-11) 10 20 7 14 — 51

3-point goals – Olympia 6-15 (Burt 2-3, Scoggins 2-3, Bode 2-7, Cleinmark 0-1, Davis 0-1), Fieldcrest 5-13 (A. Goodrich 2-8, Park 1-1, E. Goodrich 1-1, Hock 1-3). Rebounds – Olympia 32 (Scroggins 6), Fieldcrest 26 (28 (Carls 5, E. Goodrich 5, H. Baker 5). Turnovers – Olympia 25, Fieldcrest 18. Total fouls (fouled out) – Olympia 26 (Cleinmark, Smith, Burt), Fieldcrest 16.