Sanford-Fritch rallies to defeat West Texas High, clinches first playoff berth since 2018
STINNETT — Sanford-Fritch head coach Garrett Brewer fought back tears as he heard his team cheering and celebrating down the hall of the Stinnett Events Center on Friday night. A smile was cemented on his face as he tried to get through his postgame interview.
"I'm getting emotional," he said. "I'm very passionate about the girls. They work hard, and I'm proud of them."
He was proud of the Lady Eagles' resiliency and emphasized the amount of adversity Fritch has had to overcome throughout the regular season, including Friday night in a District 1-2A contest against West Texas High.
The message he kept pushing was that the girls never quit.
They didn't quit after losing by 64 to Gruver earlier in the week to force a play-in game at home. They didn't give up after falling behind by 12 points with less than a minute to go in the first half against the Lady Comanches. Nor did they stop playing trailing with 39.9 seconds left in the game.
No matter what came their way, the Lady Eagles never abandoned hope.
And the Lady Eagles were rewarded for their resilience as they claimed a 38-35 win over West Texas High, secured the fourth seed in district and program’s first trip to the playoffs since 2018 — a year after winning two games.
"This is a big opportunity for our girls," said Brewer, whose squad improved to 16-10 overall. "Our motto lately has been 'push through.' Push through adversity, push through when we're down and when we're hurting. We're going to come through, play hard and comeback when we're down. Just push through."
Push through is exactly what Fritch did.
Saydee Williams had to leave the game at the onset of the first quarter after suffering an injury that left her with a bloody lip. She pushed through the pain to lead the Lady Eagles with 15 points.
Kalynn Roberts made the mistake of fouling West Texas’ Gentry Francis with 39.9 seconds left — when the game was tied. Francis made both free throws to put the Lady Comanches up 35-33. Williams bounced back by making the go-ahead three-pointer with 26.5 seconds left to put Fritch up 36-35.
Both of those things happened after Fritch trailed by 12 points (21-9) in the latter portion of the second quarter. Williams made a pair of layups in the final minute to cut the deficit to eight held Stinnett without a field goal in the third quarter on the way to to taking the lead, garnering the win and the playoff spot.
Now, they'll be tasked with pushing through adversity again as the Lady Comanches are set to take on a strong Wellington squad in a 6:30 p.m. Monday bi-district contest at River Road High School.
How do the Lady Eagles plan to pull it off an upset? The same way they got to the playoffs in the first place, which included downing West Texas (18-13).
"These girls have bought in," Brewer said. "They've changed their mindset (since last year). It's going to help them in the future and for years to come."
West Texas
Zoe Smith 5, Sage Lay 6, Makenna Tharp 11, Avery Armstrong 2, Brittan Connywerdy, McKenna Jennings 4, Gentry Francis 7
Sanford-Fritch
Saydee Williams 15, Vara Vaughn 3, Victoria Landeros 2, Kalynn Roberts 11, Mireya Falwell: 2, Rhyah Payne 3
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Sanford-Fritch clinches first playoff berth since 2018 with comeback win over West Texas High
