Fallston girls basketball outlasts No. 13 Hereford in double overtime, 57-56, for Class 2A state championship

Mar. 13—COLLEGE PARK — The Fallston girls basketball team spent a little extra time on the hardwood Saturday, but the time was well spent.

The Cougars battled Hereford through two overtime periods to win the Class 2A state championship, 57-56, at the University of Maryland's Xfinity Center in College Park.

Fallston outscored Hereford 4-3 at the free-throw line in the second overtime to win.

"I think it really comes down to the end," Cougars coach Johnny Woods said. "In overtime, it was just a gut check. For those last six minutes, it was like, who wants it more? But we talked about free throws a long time ago and free throws made the difference today. We knocked down some really, really huge free throws. We're not sitting here now if they don't go in."

Senior Amanda Sharpe made a pair with 15.1 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 47 and forced overtime.

"When I got fouled, I was like, 'This is my worst nightmare,' but it was also a dream come true," Sharpe said. "Being the person that sends your team into overtime, and now the fact that we won states."

Sharpe, who finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, made two more free throws in the second OT, while fellow seniors Molly Mullaney and Allie Book added a free throw each.

"I've said this before, I always pride myself on defense, it comes a lot easier to me," Sharpe said. "When I hit my first short corner shots, I was like, 'OK, I can shoot today.'"

Hereford, meanwhile, struggled from the line in the second half and the overtime periods, going 8-for-14.

In the first overtime, no free throws were even attempted. Book and Hereford's Lauren Orner traded 3-pointers, each making two. The first OT ended tied at 53.

"My whole life, I've always been a little timid to shoot from the outside corner," Book said. "I always have my biggest supporter, Johnny Woods, he would just yell at me, tell me to shoot, and low and behold, they go in."

The Cougars were down seven, 24-17, at halftime. A 9-0 Fallston run to open the second half pulled the Cougars back into the game.

"I feel like the girls started to find the depth of the rim, I think we were kind of plagued by being in this atmosphere and not having shot here before," Woods said.

The Cougars hit 7 of 10 3-point attempts in the second half and overtime.

A Jillian Crawford 3-pointer and Emily Solomon basket gave Fallston five quick points just 56 seconds into the third quarter. Sharpe and Mullaney (nine points) added a basket for Fallston's first lead, 26-24.

Hereford answered with two Lauren Kraft baskets to slide back ahead, but Mullaney's first 3-pointer swung the score back to the Cougars' favor, 29-28.

Orner's lone 3-point shot in the quarter tied the game at 34, but Natalie Wirth scored three points off the bench for Fallston for a 37-36 Cougars lead after three.

In the fourth quarter, Orner (18 points) and Kraft (24 points) hit 3-pointers, while Crawford and Mullaney did the same for Cougars.

The Bulls went 3-for-8 from the free-throw line in the quarter.

"We did the little things all year long that got us here and I think in the end it was some little things that didn't keep us out there," Hereford coach Dave Schreiner said. "In the first OT, we missed some shots we needed to make, missed some foul shots, and in the second overtime, it was kind of the same thing. So, it was the little things."

In the first half, the Bulls did a little of everything. The Cougars had trouble penetrating the Bulls' defense and the Cougars missed their first four shots, while Hereford used 3-pointers from Kraft and Orner to lead 8-2.

"I think the threes really rallied our team," Orner said.

The Cougars used four points from Sharpe and a 3-pointer from Crawford (14 points) to stay in it.

Hereford led 10-7 after one quarter and pulled away in the second. Baskets from Kayla Nieberlein and Jordan Peterson doubled the lead.

The Bulls, with a slight height advantage, passed the ball around Fallston defenders. Kraft took advantage with a jumper as the shot clock was winding down, giving the Bulls an 18-11 lead. Kraft added a 3-pointer a short time later to push the lead to 12.

Crawford countered with a 3-pointer and Book (10 points) also hit a three to get the Cougars within seven at the half.