The Huntingdon Fillies made their seventh trip to the state tournament as a basketball team this past week and the first six attempts resulted in three final fours but no title game appearances. The youthful Fillies with six sophomores, four freshman, and one senior broke the spell and made school history with a 43-41 comeback win over the Lady Dragonettes of York Institute who finished runner-up for the second year in a row.
The Fillies overcame a seven-point deficit with 2:48 remaining in the game as the Fillies went on an 11-2 run to end the game and earn the first ever state title in school history after making history just playing in the first title game in school history.
After a torrid first half in which the Fillies led 22-20, they fell behind 30-28 to start the fourth quarter and at one time York held an eight-point lead with 3:10 left in the game and the Fillies cut it to seven at 39-32 when they started the surge that carried them to a state championship. Grier Bartholomew knocked down a three to cut it to 39-35 before Mille Luther made a three to draw with in one at 39-38. York scored a basket to give the Lady Dragonettes a three-point lead at 41-38 until Bartholomew made her second three-pointer in the last two minutes of the game to tie the score at 41-41. Luther would add a foul shot for a 42-41 lead and Wylie Kee added another to give the Fillies a lead at 43-41. York had three good looks underneath to tie but the Fillies defense kept the ball out of the basket for the win.
Three-point shooting proved to be the difference in the game as the Fillies were 8 of 18 from behind the arc and held York to 0 of 7 from the three-point line. Bartholomew was 4-7 from behind the arc and led the Fillies with 12 points in the game. Knox Bennett was 2-3 from behind the three-point line and scored eight points for the game. Luther was 2-4 behind the three-point line and finished the game with seven points. Freshman Wylie Kee who earned MVP honors for the tournament finished with 11 points but led the Fillies with five rebounds and blocked four shots and recorded three steals for the game. Tatum Rich added four and Ellie Wilson 1.York was led by Cali Franklin with 12, Emma Pile 11, and Emma Cooper with 9 and 11 rebounds for the game.
The Fillies were 14-35 from the field and 7-12 from the foul line and committed 16 turnovers for the game. The Dragonettes were 15-37 from the field and 11-19 from the foul line. York out rebounded Huntingdon 26-21 for the game. York held the largest lead of the game at eight with 5:23 left in the game and the Fillies biggest lead of the night was six in the second quarter.
The Fillies finished with a school record of 31-3 for the season and finished the season on a 21-game winning streak. The Fillies started the week with a rematch of one of their only three losses for the season with Smith County in the opening game of the tournament. The Lady Owls defeated the Fillies 61-56 at Smith County in the second game of the season as the Fillies started the season 0-2.
The Fillies avenged that loss by winning over Smith County on Wednesday as they won over the Lady Owls 60-57 in a close fought game. The Fillies who trailed 28-24 at the half, exploded for 25 points in the third to Smith County’s 16 to take the lead that held for the remainder of the game. Smith County had a look at a three to tie the game, but Emery Jones attempt was off the mark, and the Fillies had their win to open the tournament and advance.
The Fillies freshman sensation Wylie Kee had the game of her career against Smith County as she scored 19 points, had 19 rebounds, eight assists, and blocked seven shots. Sophomore Ellie Wilson also had a big game as she scored 19 and recorded five rebounds. Knox Bennett added 7, Grier Bartholomew 6, Krystin Moore 6, and Millie Luther 3.
Smith County was led by Kaylee Dixon with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Jones added 16.
The Fillies second game of the tournament came on Friday and matched the Fillies against Gatlinburg-Pittman who stayed atop the polls most of the year at number one and entered the game with a 31-3 record. The Fillies got off to a fast start and led the game by 14 at the half and had a lead of as many as 30 in the second half of the game to win 65-42 and coasted the title game on Saturday.
Kee had another big game for the Fillies as she led the way with 22 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists. Bennett added 20 points for the Fillies on 7-10 shooting from the floor and added five rebounds. Wilson scored 13 and recorded seven rebounds, Bartholomew 3, Luther 3, Tatum Rich 2, and Emalynn Maness 2.
