WARDSVILLE, Mo. - After allowing 20 points in the first quarter Monday night, something had to change for the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons.
Blair Oaks played zone the rest of the game and it worked like a charm. The Lady Falcons only allowed 24 points the rest of the way in a 53-44 win against the School of the Osage Lady Indians.
"We hadn't played 2-3 zone much at all, so we kind of did that on the fly a little bit," Blair Oaks coach Darren Heckman said. "That's to their credit to figure it out. We're long so we can do that. We were trying to cover their shooters and make sure we go where they were."
But it did take a while for the Lady Falcons to recover from the first quarter performance.
Sara Wolf drained a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first half to give Osage a 26-21 lead.
Then the Blair Oaks offense found a rhythm.
Sydney Wilde scored four of her seven points in the first minute of the second half. Halie Rackers added a 3-pointer and Brooke Boessen capped the 9-1 run with a second-chance bucket. With 5:20 left in the third quarter, the Lady Falcons were up 30-27 and only let Osage take the lead once the rest of the way.
Boessen led Blair Oaks (13-3, 2-0 Tri-County) with 12 points, while Rackers finished with 10.
Heckman was also proud of Boessen's defense.
"I thought she guarded really well in the second half in the middle of that zone," he said. "She's very athletic. She's quick and she got from block to block and did a really good job."
Abby Girard got going inside as she finished with six points on 3-of-4 shooting off the bench.
"She's getting in a rhythm," Heckman said. "It's a confidence thing with everybody, but with her it's a confidence thing and she's getting in a better rhythm, I think, and just relaxing a little bit. She's so long. She does a lot of really good things. She's a smart player."
Osage never let Blair Oaks get away, though, as Carson Wood tied it at 42 with a pair of free throws with less than 4 minutes remaining. That made her 9-of-9 from the free-throw line, helping her to a game-high 22 points for Osage (12-4, 1-1).
"I don't want to play her anymore this year," Heckman said. "She's been tough on us all three times. She's a good player. She knows what she's doing."
But it was the Lady Falcons' free throw shooting that helped close it out as Claire Heckman made all six of her attempts down the stretch. Blair Oaks finished 19-of-21 at the line.
Monday's win was the first for Blair Oaks in three tries against Osage this season.
"Playing a team three times is tough," Heckman said. "You've seen everything. It's about attitude and effort and I was really happy with those things tonight."
Blair Oaks will take on Southern Boone for the second time this season Thursday in Ashland. The freshman game will start at 5 p.m. with the JV to tip at about 6:15 p.m. and the varsity at about 7:45 p.m.
The Lady Falcons defeated the Lady Eagles 46-38 in the third-place game of the Tri-County Tournament earlier this season.
In Monday's JV game, Blair Oaks won 49-32.
Bailey Rissmiller paced the Lady Falcons with 17 points while Shay Turner scored 11.
Blair Oaks won the freshman game 27-21.
Hannah Verslues was the top scorer for Blair Oaks with 12 points.