‘It’s time for you to go.’ Franklin County leans on veteran stars late in OT win.
In the closing minute of regulation of Franklin County’s game Wednesday, senior Brooklynn Miles had one thought on her mind.
“I’m not losing,” Miles recalled for the media after the Lady Flyers rallied to a 55-50 overtime win over South Laurel in the first round of the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.
Franklin County Coach Joey Thacker watched his team let slip nine-point leads twice in the second half, and he turned to his point guard as South Laurel went to the free throw line to stretch out their biggest lead of the game in the closing moments.
“I just said, ‘It’s time for you to go,’” Thacker said. “We found some things late in the game where we could cut her through the zone and get her in the corner where she and Patience (Laster) would be isolated on the same side. And she made big plays and big foul shots, too. Those are huge.”
Down by five points with under a minute to play in regulation, Miles nailed a three-pointer from the left corner to cut the deficit to two and on the ensuing inbounds play, Franklin County created a turnover and a scramble for the ball that eventually landed in Miles’ hands with 12 seconds on the clock when she was fouled.
Miles calmly made both free throws to tie the game at 50. South Laurel got to the free throw line with 2.7 seconds left on its possession, but Brianna Howard missed the front of a one-and-one opportunity and time expired, sending the game to the tournament’s third overtime of the day.
“I saw kids with a lot of grit at the end and sort of refused to lose,” Thacker said. “These two (Miles and Laster) have made big plays for us all their lives. And they made big plays for us down the stretch.”
Both teams went scoreless in the extra frame until Jhaven Meade’s putback of a Laster miss put Franklin County up 52-50 with 49 seconds left.
Then just as it had done all game, the Flyers forced another South Laurel turnover. Miles made another pair of free throws with 22 seconds left for a 54-50 lead and South Laurel was unable to respond.
Miles, a 5-foot-6 point guard committed to Tennessee, showed the skill and speed that have made her one of the state’s top recruits. She finished with 17 points, five assists and eight steals. And teammate Laster in the post also proved formidable with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
South Laurel (20-11) rallied from a couple of deficits in the game. The Cardinals got behind by nine points in the first half as the pesky Franklin County defense deflected passes and got 15 steals amid South Laurel’s 28 turnovers.
A 10-2 run to start the second half highlighted by a Howard three-pointer got South Laurel back in the game, but Franklin County answered again with its own 8-0 run that included six points on layups from Laster.
Then South Laurel’s 3-2 zone defense and Franklin County’s desire to try to nurse a lead began to wear on the Flyers. The Cardinals mounted another rally this time capped by a lead change as Reagan Jones hit a three from the wing to put South Laurel up 47-45 with 3:33 to go in regulation. South Laurel maintained that lead until the Flyers’ last-minute heroics. Jones finished with a team-high 14 points.
“The kids just kept fighting and battling and scratching and clawing and, you know, we had an opportunity to win the ball game,” South Laurel Coach Chris Souder said. “Give Franklin County credit. They did what they had to do, and that’s just the way this goes.”
The victory sent Franklin County (17-5) on to face Anderson County (27-2), the winner of Wednesday’s late first-round game with Southwestern. That quarterfinal will be played at 2 p.m. Friday.
Then No. 1 ranked Franklin County suffered a 64-32 loss to Anderson County in January that sent the Flyers tumbling from the “best teams in the state” conversation until they rolled through the 11th Region Tournament.
“It will be a great game,” Thacker said of whomever they faced. “They may be the best two defensive teams here. We’ll get our legs back under us and get back to work. I expect that one to be a dandy.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2021 at 8:47 PM.
