ST. HENRY – Franklin Monroe withstood St. Henry’s fourth quarter rally Saturday afternoon to earn a 47-38 victory on the road.
Franklin Monroe led by 12 points entering the fourth quarter, but St. Henry didn’t back down. The home team cut the Jets’ lead to just 3 points before FM closed out the game strong to win by 9.
“I am tremendously proud of our team today,” Franklin Monroe girls basketball coach Abbey Moore said. “It was a great effort from tip to that final buzzer. We came to play, and we had a mission, and we accomplished that mission.”
Franklin Monroe and St. Henry were deadlocked early in Saturday’s matchup, ending the first quarter tied at 10-all.
With St. Henry leading 15-14 midway through the second quarter, Franklin Monroe took control. Audrey Cable scored with 3:36 remaining in the half to put the Jets up 16-15. That was just the start of a 10-0 run that also included points from Kennedy Morris, Chloe Brumbaugh and Belle Cable.
St. Henry did manage to add a pair of free throws late in the quarter, but Franklin Monroe went into halftime up 24-17.
“I think in that second quarter we did a really good job of getting to the basket and getting good, quality looks,” Moore said. “Audrey Cable did a great job of taking advantage of her quickness on the drive and was able to get some easy buckets, and that allowed us to get some separation there going into the half.”
Belle Cable, Corina Conley, Audrey Cable and Tara Goubeaux each scored in the third quarter, during which Franklin Monroe extended its lead to double digits at 35-23.
Even facing a double-digit deficit, Moore said she knew St. Henry would make a run, which it did early in the fourth quarter. First Nikki Keller made a basket then Alyssa Buschur caught fire. Buscher scored 9 of her team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter – making two 3-pointers to go along with a bucket and free throw.
With just over five minutes remaining, St. Henry was within a single possession, 37-34. That was as close as St. Henry would get, however, as Franklin Monroe finished strong and ended the comeback threat.
“When their fans get pumped up and get going, I looked at my girls in the eyes and there was no let down,” Moore said. “There was no weakness from that. For girls to show that moving forward, going into the tournament that’s going to be huge because that’s that tournament atmosphere where you have to overcome that environment, and we were able to do that tonight and play strong and play physical. That’s going to be our game moving forward.”
Audrey Cable scored a game-high 17 points on Saturday. Also for the Jets, Conley scored 16 points, Brumbaugh scored 7, Belle Cable scored 3, Goubeaux scored 2, and Morris scored 2.
Buschur led St. Henry with 13 points, Addy Vaughn scored 8, Allison Siefring scored 7, Keller scored 6, Cora Stammen scored 2, and Nora Vaughn scored 2.
Franklin Monroe improved to 14-2 with Saturday’s victory. The Jets will play host to Southeastern on Thursday.
