FRANKLIN — If high school basketball games consisted of just one half, Franklin-Simpson would’ve lost. Luckily, there are four quarters, and the Lady Wildcats took advantage of that on Friday evening against Warren Central.
Franklin scored just seven total points in the first half and trailed 22-7 at halftime but completely turned things around in the second, outscoring the visiting Lady Dragons 34-6 to claim an impressive 41-30, comeback win.
“It’s good for the girls to end on a positive tonight,” first-year Franklin-Simpson head coach Cody Rich said. “We were down 22-7 at halftime and I just told the girls that we weren’t playing with any intensity. They played hard. My girls are exhausted. We’re going to enjoy this win.”
Christina Carver led the Lady Wildcats (3-7) with 12 points – all of those coming throughout the second half turnaround – while Alera Barbee and Evyn McCutchen each finished with 10 points.
Carver, a junior, said nervousness played a big factor in Franklin’s slow start but it was able to get it together.
“After the first quarter, we were nervous and everybody was just worked up,” Carver said. “Then, during halftime, coach told us that we needed to pick it up or just stay mediocre, so we decided that we needed to come together as a team and get this dub – and we did.”
Warren Central built a 15-5 lead after the first quarter as Ivy Shelton already had 7 points. Franklin-Simpson was able to hold the Lady Dragons to just seven points in the second, but they still held a 22-7 advantage at halftime.
At the break, Shelton was leading all scorers with 9 points while Tiffany Taylor had six. Shelton went on to finish with 13 to carry Central while Taylor tallied 8.
The Lady Wildcats battled back in the third quarter, cutting their deficit to 11 at 24-13 at the 4:35 mark after a pair of baskets by McCutchen. A three-point play by Barbee then made it 24-18 with just over a minute remaining in the period.
A three-pointer by Kate Norwood just before the buzzer tied it at 25-25 entering the fourth, as Franklin-Simpson ended the quarter on an 18-1 run.
“I told her midway through the third that ‘if you don’t shoot it, I’m gonna take you out,’” Rich said of Norwood’s shot. “We don’t have a lot of great shooters, but we have a lot of great athletes. She is one that can shoot the ball a little bit.”
Franklin jumped out to a 6-0 start to open the final period and pushed its lead to 31-25. The Wildcats went on to hold Warren Central to just two points in the fourth while adding 14 to their side of the scoreboard to seal the comeback victory.
“It’s big, considering that we lost to them last season,” said Carver of the win. “To beat them like this, it was good.”
Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @_TylerMansfield.
