FREDERICKTOWN — It was a typical Fredericktown Freddies win as they took down backyard rival Clear Fork, 52-43, in area nonconference girls basketball action on Tuesday.
The Freddies put their best foot — actually, best feet — forward as they had a trio of good performances from their post player committee of Hope Huvler (13 points, nine rebounds) Emily Williams (nine points, six rebounds) and Jess Gable (six points, five rebounds). Also, the Freddies ensured their first winning season in four years. Not only did they do it with dominant play under the boards, but they also kept their turnovers to a minimum despite an all-out defensive effort by the Colts.
“One of the things I told the girls was, ‘We’ve always known Clear Fork to be a very, very aggressive team,’” said Fredericktown coach Wes Elfritz, whose team jumped out to a 16-1 lead midway through the second period. “When they came out with that kind of aggression in the first quarter, we did a great job of still getting really great shots. Hope Huvler did a great job of getting some second chances in the first quarter. Those were big because we weren’t really hitting our shots but, when you’ve got a good post player like that cleaning it up and getting second chances, that’s big.”
The turnover bug started to bite the Freddies in the third quarter. Clear Fork’s Deijah Swihart got a steal at midcourt and converted on a layup to shrink the lead to 27-19. Fredericktown’s Lyndsay Briegal (eight points) landed a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter and another to start the fourth, to open up a 41-25 lead.
“The pressure got to us, a little, in the third quarter,” said Elfritz, “and the only thing we told them at halftime was to be ready for it.”
