BUSHLAND — The Farwell girls basketball team is one game away from playing for a state title.
The Lady Blue won Region I-2A Division II on Thursday night with a 46-40 neutral site win against Clarendon in the fourth round of the postseason.
No. 3 Farwell will meet either Lipan or Lindsay from Region II-2A Division II in the state semifinals with a trip to San Antonio on the line.
Landri Richey led the way for the Lady Blue, tallying 22 points in the win. Clarendon’s Kate Shaw was the Lady Broncos leading scorer, finishing with 12 points.
Game-changing plays
Both teams played solid defense in the first quarter, trading buckets to head into the second frame tied at seven. In the second quarter, Farwell knocked down multiple shots from beyond the arc to build a 23-15 advantage heading into the break.
After trailing by as many as 10 in the third quarter, Clarendon fought back and managed to cut the Lady Blue’s lead to six. Farwell rebuilt its lead to close out the penultimate frame and went into the fourth quarter ahead 35-26.
The Lady Broncos fought back again, bringing the score to 39-36 with 65 seconds left in the game. Two Lady Blue free throws with less than a minute left proved to be the dagger, though, as Farwell pulled away again to finish off a 46-40 victory.
They said it
Farwell head coach Joe Crabb: “It means the world. These five seniors, they were locked in. They’ve been ready to go since they were youngsters. They lost in the regional championship game last year, and they were determined to make it happen, so they did it. They came in, worked hard. It’s a great group. We didn’t have our best game of the season, but we did what we had to do. That’s a heck of a team, Clarendon.”
Farwell senior Landri Richey: “It’s huge for us. We haven’t been in (state) semifinals since 2000, so it’s a big thing. Twenty-five years is a long time. It just means everything to us, we’ve been talking about this since the third grade.”
Up next
With the win, Farwell will play in the state semifinals for the first time since the 1999-2000 season, when the Lady Blue won the team’s only UIL title. Awaiting the Region I champions will be either Lipan or Lindsay, who played one another for the Region II title Thursday night.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Farwell girls basketball tops Clarendon to reach state semifinals
