It was a familiar place for the Tecumseh girls’ basketball team. For the sixth consecutive season, the Arrows advanced to the sectional championship game. Although now it is called the district semis, the Arrows were hoping to earn their second trip to the district championship game.
After playing a close first half, the Arrows struggled in the third period only scoring six points, and fell behind by double figures entering the fourth period, falling to the Firebirds 50-35, ending their season as the sectional runner-up and 19-6 overall.
Fairmont’s strong defensive start seemed to frustrate the Arrows early, as Tecumseh fell behind 5-0 less than three minutes into the game. The Arrows had two shots and a pair of turnovers while trying to get their offense in gear.
It became 8-0 before Corinne Thomas could finally break the scoreless start with a pair of free throws with 2:47 left in the first quarter.
Makenzie Pauley finally broke the drought with a long three for the Arrows from the right wing at the 1:17 mark, giving the Arrows their first field goal of the quarter, but as the teams went to the second period, the Arrows trailed 12-5.
After they settled into the game, the Arrows controlled the early stages of the second period. Tecumseh bolted out to a 7-0 run to start the quarter including a long three from Thomas, cutting the Firebirds to 12-11 with 6:08 left in the half.
The offense on both sides was limited in the second period, but with 1:12 left in the first half, the Arrows took their first lead of the game when Thomas connected on a pair of free throws. Makira Webster, who had six first half points for the Firebirds, scored near the buzzer to send Fairmont into the locker room with 18-16 lead at the half.
Tecumseh’s offense went stagnant in the third period, as Fairmont began to open the game up. Terah Harness scored early for the Arrows, but they suffered through a scoreless drought for four minutes, and the Firebirds took advantage. Fairmont built their lead to 28-20 on a free throw from Madison Bartley, and as the quarter came to an end, the Firebirds pushed their lead to 10 points.
Leading the way for Tecumseh in the season finale was Thomas with a team high 14 points, while freshman Harness added 11 points. Bartley led all scorers with 18 points for Fairmont, while Webster added 14.
